archetype

noun

ar·​che·​type ˈär-ki-ˌtīp 

1

: the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies : prototype

… the House of Commons, the archetype of all the representative assemblies which now meet …

—Thomas Babington Macaulay

also : a perfect example

He is the archetype of a successful businessman.

2

: idea sense 4c

3

psychology : an inherited idea or mode of thought in the psychology of Carl Gustav Jung that is derived from the experience of the race and is present in the unconscious of the individual

archetypal

ˌär-ki-ˈtī-pəl 

adjective

or less commonly archetypical

ˌär-ki-ˈti-pi-kəl 

an archetypal English village

archetypally

ˌär-ki-ˈti-pə-lē 

adverb

or less commonly archetypically

ˌär-ki-ˈti-pi-k(ə-)lē 

Did you know?

Archetype comes from the Greek verb archein ("to begin" or "to rule") and the noun typos ("type"). Archetype has specific uses in the fields of philosophy and psychology. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato, for example, believed that all things have ideal forms (aka archetypes) of which real things are merely shadows or copies. And in the psychology of C. G. Jung, archetype refers to an inherited idea or mode of thought that is present in the unconscious of the individual. In everyday prose, however, archetype is most commonly used to mean "a perfect example of something."

Synonyms

• ancestor
• antecedent
• daddy
• foregoer
• forerunner
• granddaddy
• grandaddy
• precursor
• predecessor
• prototype

Examples of archetype in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Leaders who embody the Connector archetype understand that relationships, not transactions, drive long-term success. —Chris Schembra, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2025

Image The older woman archetype is as old as film itself. —Amanda Hess, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025

While Grande embraced the wide-eyed ingenue archetype during the Wicked press tour, her references to Hepburn have become much more overt. —Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 7 Jan. 2025

Advertisement Carter left office in 1981 after a single term as the popular archetype of presidential failure thanks to a stagnant economy, foreign policy crises and a landslide defeat to Ronald Reagan. —Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin archetypum, from Greek archetypon, from neuter of archetypos archetypal, from archein + typos type

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

archetype

noun

ar·​che·​type ˈär-ki-ˌtīp 

: the original pattern or model from which something is copied

archetypal

ˌär-ki-ˈtī-pəl 

adjective

Medical Definition

archetype

noun

ar·​che·​type ˈär-ki-ˌtīp 

1

a

: a primitive generalized plan of structure deduced from the characters of a natural group of plants or animals and assumed to be the characteristic of the ancestor from which they are all descended

b

: the original ancestor of a group of plants or animals

2

: an inherited idea or mode of thought in the psychology of C. G. Jung that is derived from the experience of the race and is present in the unconscious of the individual

archetypal

ˌär-ki-ˈtī-pəl 

adjective