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

Monica, a doctor, filled the bad-girl archetype on the show, and Charleson loved playing her. —Stephanie Wenger, People.com, 14 Feb. 2025

Such archetypes have also inadvertently appeared on the runways of luxury brands such as Chanel and Miu Miu. —Kati Chitrakorn, CNN, 12 Feb. 2025

There are strong hints in the six episodes sent to critics that the archetypes and commentary have become, if not stale, very comfortably entrenched. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025

Trump’s first days are the archetype of excess: intervention after intervention that break norms and wield power as though no other branch of government matters. —Clive Crook, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 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