Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An original model or type after which other similar things are patterned; a prototype: "'Frankenstein' . . . 'Dracula' . . . 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' . . . the archetypes that have influenced all subsequent horror stories” ( New York Times).
- n. An ideal example of a type; quintessence: an archetype of successful entrepreneur.
- n. In Jungian psychology, an inherited pattern of thought or symbolic imagery derived from the past collective experience and present in the individual unconscious.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A model or first form; the original pattern or model after which a thing is made; especially, a Platonic idea, or immaterial preëxisting exemplar of a natural form.
- n. In coining, the standard weight by which others are adjusted: now called the prototype.
- n. In comparative anatomy, a primitive generalized plan of structure assumed to have been subsequently modified or lost by differentiation and specialization: as, the vertebrate archetype.
- n. The original form from which a class of related forms in plants or animals may be supposed to have descended.
Wiktionary
- n. An original model of which all other similar persons, objects, or concepts are merely derivative, copied, patterned, or emulated; a prototype
- n. literature A character, story, or object that is based on a known character, story, or object.
- n. An ideal example of something; a quintessence.
- n. 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.
- v. To depict as, model using or otherwise associate a subject or object with an archetype.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The original pattern or model of a work; or the model from which a thing is made or formed.
- n. (Coinage) The standard weight or coin by which others are adjusted.
- n. (Biol.) The plan or fundamental structure on which a natural group of animals or plants or their systems of organs are assumed to have been constructed.
WordNet 3.0
- n. something that serves as a model or a basis for making copies
Etymologies
- From Old French architipe (French archétype), 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"). (Wiktionary)
- Latin archetypum, from Greek arkhetupon, from neuter of arkhetupos, original : arkhe-, arkhi-, archi- + tupos, model, stamp. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Instead he views the type as what he calls the archetype of the kind, defined as something that models all the tokens of a kind with respect to projectible questions but not something that admits of answers to individuating questions.”
“So, I agree – Palin undoubtedly appeals to the core values – she's simply the same version of that archetype from the south and midwest, except she has a somewhat different accent. gl, From Pittsburgh”
“We have always loved that archetype, and this archetype is replete throughout American fiction.”
“The Trickster archetype is usually the Fumbling father portrayed in family sitcoms.”
“Maura McHugh's "Vic" is yet another re-working of the Frankenstein archetype, but is so beautifully crafted that it's easy to overlook that.”
MIND MELD: The Best Genre-Related Books/Films/Shows Consumed in 2009 (Part 4)
“Seems to me the archetype is that of the perils of pride and not a uniquely science fiction construct.”
MIND MELD: Today's SF Authors Define Science Fiction (Part 2)
“The final archetype is what we refer to as “The Initiate.””
“Astrology is an ancient and elegant language steeped in archetype and symbolism and capable of providing a tremendous amount of personal insight.”
“As the word archetype was borrowed from old metaphysical ideas dating back to the time of Plato, he took care to state that what he meant by it was no more than a form embodying all that could be affirmed equally respecting every single kind of cephalous mollusc, and by no means an “idea” upon which it could be supposed that animal forms had been modelled.”
“When we mourn them, we mourn what they symbolized to us, the mythic 'archetype' -- as Carl Jung first called it -- they play in a culture's imagination.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘archetype’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Test Prep or Just for fun
Building a list for standardized test prep or just for learning some new words! Please add any words that you feel are important for the SAT/GRE/GMAT etc...
throng, morass, parley, facile, kismet, strife, jetsam, carrion, annex, harbinger, vestige, surreptitious and 575 more...
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501
Classic
mete, ire, bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado, toil, onus, aberration, abstruse, anomaly and 401 more...
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Ar!
ar, Ar, argon, are, area, arf, arc, ark, aardwolf, aardvark, aardcucumber, yardarm and 253 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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501
Classic
irk, teem, blight, pith, moot, mete, ire, bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado and 401 more...
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501
Classic
bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado, toil, onus, aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august and 401 more...
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January 2012
bloviate, pastiche, apparat, facile, paroxysm, pique, bedfellow, pedigree, tutelage, protege, protégé, retroactive and 196 more...
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SAT words
tergiversate, cymotrichous, vigilance, wince, consternation, cower, neutralize, euphony, cacophony, misanthrope, bibliophile, kleptomania and 81 more...
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The Copied
ur-, progenitor, precursor, prototype, forerunner, template, model, version 1.0, alpha, mold, die, standard and 6 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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Terms for AP Lit
This list is designed to be a reference for my AP Lit. students
metonymy, synecdoche, metaphor, simile, litotes, satire, irony, sarcasm, invective, bathos, broadside, characterization and 28 more...
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revelation
synonyms of revelation or even catalysts leading revelation (moments of clarity).. whatever they may be (preferably nouns)
also experiences that are possible paths to enlightenment (v...rebirth, awakening, catharsis, revival, renewal, dawning, spring, reunion, recollect, exodus, epiphany, prophecy and 78 more...
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GRE Reference
A list of words unfamiliar to me that I have repeatedly encountered in GRE question sets.
parochial, clique, salacious, aegis, ostracize, conceited, sacrilegious, inane, serendipity, gourmand, polemic, tenuous and 138 more...
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GRE 3500
abase, abash, abate, aberrant, abeyance, abjure, ablution, abut, accede, accentuate, acerbity, acetic and 133 more...
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Words
My list of words.
veritable, facetious, nadir, quixotic, apropos, acquiesce, ostensible, insipid, egregious, inveterate, coax, adroit and 409 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for archetype.

bookhling Loki/Loke might be seen as an ancient archetype of the anti-hero. Jul 17, 2008
samoritan Ahhh Superheros! Few genres are better suited to studying archetypes. Take Bruce Wayne... This guy has issues up the wazoo. He fights crime, but only as a panacea to escape the pain of his parent's death. The best deconstruction of the superhero mythos I've read (aside from "Watchmen") is Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns". This graphic novel has Bruce going head to head with his old nemesis Clark Kent; still regarded as the classic hero despite attempts to "flaw" his character in recent years.
May 31, 2007
jennarenn Batman? What did I miss??? May 31, 2007
samoritan All archetypes have their roots in antiquity, but for the *most part* the anti-hero is a product of post-modernism. The anti-hero struggles with personal demons, wanting to do right but cannot rise above his faults. Holden Caulfield, Travis Bickle, Batman, Han Solo and many Clint Eastwood characters are modern anti-heros. May 31, 2007
seanahan Is it really a "modern" archetype? I would say throughout history there have been anti-heroes. May 29, 2007
samoritan The anti-hero is an interesting modern day archetype. May 29, 2007