archetype

[ ahr-ki-tahyp ]

noun

1. the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.
2. (in Jungian psychology) a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches.

archetype

/ ˈɑːkɪˌtaɪp /

noun

1. a perfect or typical specimen
2. an original model or pattern; prototype
3. psychoanal one of the inherited mental images postulated by Jung as the content of the collective unconscious
4. a constantly recurring symbol or motif in literature, painting, etc

archetype

1. An original model after which other similar things are patterned. In the psychology of Carl Jung , archetypes are the images, patterns, and symbols (see also symbol ) that rise out of the collective unconscious and appear in dreams, mythology , and fairy tales.

Other Words From

• arche·typal ar·che·typ·i·cal [ahr-ki-, tip, -i-k, uh, l], arche·typic adjective
• arche·typal·ly arche·typi·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of archetype¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin archetypum “an original,” from Greek archétypon “a model, pattern,” neuter of archétypos “of the first mold,” equivalent to arche- + type

Word History and Origins

Origin of archetype¹

C17: from Latin archetypum an original, from Greek arkhetupon, from arkhetupos first-moulded; see arch- , type