- perfect or typical as a specimen of something
- being an original model or pattern or a prototype
- of or relating to Jungian archetypes
- constantly recurring as a symbol or motif in literature, painting, etc
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ar•che•typ•al /ˈɑrkɪˌtaɪpəl/USA pronunciation or ar•che•typ•i•cal /ˌɑrkɪˈtɪpɪkəl/USA pronunciation adj.
- being an archetype.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
archetypal /ˌɑːkɪˈtaɪpəl/, archetypical /ˌɑːkɪˈtɪpɪkəl/ adj
ar•che•type /ˈɑrkɪˌtaɪp/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- the original model from which all things of the same kind are copied.
- the best or most complete example of something.
ar•che•type
(är′ki tīp′),USA pronunciation n.
ar•che•typ•al
(är′ki tī′pəl),USA pronunciation ar•che•typ•i•cal
(är′ki tip′i kəl),USA pronunciation ar′che•typ′ic, adj.
ar′che•typ′al•ly, ar′che•typ′i•cal•ly, adv.
- 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. - Psychology(in Jungian psychology) a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches.
- Greek archétypon a model, pattern (neuter of archétypos of the first mold, equivalent. to arche- arche- + týp(os) mold, type + -os adjective, adjectival suffix)
- Latin archetypum an original
- 1595–1605
'archetypal' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):