archetype

English

Wikipedia ^en

Etymology

From Latin archetypum, from Ancient Greek ἀρχέτυπον (arkhetupon, “pattern, model”) neuter of ἀρχέτυπος (arkhetupos, “first-moulded”), from ἀρχή (arkhē, “first, origin ”) + τύπος (typos, “sort, type, press”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/
• (US) IPA: /ˈɑɹkɪtaɪp/

Noun

archetype (plural archetypes)

1. An original model of which all other similar persons, objects, or concepts are merely derivative, copied, patterned, or emulated; a prototype
2. (literature) A character, story, or object that is based on a known character, story, or object.
3. An ideal example of something; a quintessence.
4. (psychology) According to the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, a universal pattern of thought, present in an individual's unconscious, inherited from the past collective experience of humanity.

Usage notes

Traditionally archetype refers to the model upon which something is based, but it has also come to mean an example of a personality archetype, particularly a fictional character in a story based on a well-established personality model. In this fashion, a character based on the Jesus archetype might be referred to as a "Jesus archetype". See eponym for a similar usage conflict.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:model

Translations

original model of which all other similar persons, objects, or concepts are merely derivative

Catalan: arquetip (ca) m. Finnish: perikuva (fi), arkkityyppi (fi) Italian: archetipo (it) m.

Mandarin: 原型 (cmn) Spanish: arquetipo (es) m.

person, story, concept, or object that is based on a known archetype

Catalan: arquetip (ca) m.

Finnish: perikuva (fi), malliesimerkki (fi)

ideal example of something; a quintessence

Catalan: arquetip (ca) m. Finnish: perikuva (fi)

Mandarin: 典范 (cmn)

Jungian psychology: universal pattern of thought

Catalan: arquetip (ca) m. Finnish: arkkityyppi (fi)

Polish: archetyp (pl) m.

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

French: archétype Greek: Ancient: αρχέτυπον (arkhetypon) n. Modern: αρχέτυπο (arkhetypo) n. Italian: archetipo m. Portuguese: arquétipo Mandarin: 原型 (yuánxíng)

Verb

archetype (third-person singular simple present archetypes, present participle archetyping, simple past and past participle archetyped)

1. To depict as, model using or otherwise associate a subject or object with an archetype.
   • 2003 October 31, Clyde Haberman, “NYC; Not Poifect, Dem Movies Of Brooklyn”, New York Times:

     His collaborator was Robert Singer, a professor of English and film studies at Kingsborough Community College, who lamented this week that he and his fellow Brooklynites "have been archetyped to death."

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Latin

Adjective

archetype

1. vocative masculine singular of archetypus