archetype
archetype Lexical Profile
archetype Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A very typical or quintessential example of a certain person or thing; an original model or pattern from which copies are made or later forms develop.
"The small coastal village is the very archetype of a traditional New England fishing community."
A recurrent symbol, motif, or character type in literature, art, or mythology that embodies universal human experiences.
"The wise old mentor is a familiar archetype found in countless epic tales and folktales across cultures."
In Jungian psychology, a primitive mental image or inherited pattern of thought present in the collective unconscious, derived from the earliest human ancestors.
"Carl Jung proposed that dreams often draw upon universal archetypes shared across the human psyche."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'archetype' with 'stereotype' or 'prototype'. An 'archetype' is a classic, universally recognized model or symbol, a 'prototype' is an early experimental version built to test a concept, and a 'stereotype' is an oversimplified, fixed generalization about a group.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-16th century via Latin archetypum from Ancient Greek arkhetupon ('something molded first as a model'), combining arkhe- ('first, primitive') and tupos ('impression, model, or pattern').