Archetype
noun /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ — The original model from which all others are made.
Definition
A universally recognisable pattern or prototype — in literature, the fundamental character types (hero, trickster, shadow) that recur across all cultures and eras; in Jungian psychology, the original templates of the collective unconscious.
Beyond the definition
We recognise archetypes before we name them. The mentor who appears just when the hero needs guidance. The journey into the unknown and back again. These patterns work because they are not cultural — they are human.
Origin & history
Greek 'arkhetupon' — from 'arkhe' (first) + 'tupos' (impression, model). The prototype against which all copies are measured.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The mentor is an archetype: Gandalf, Dumbledore, Mr Miyagi — different names for the same essential figure.
She was writing against the archetype, not to destroy it but to understand why it persisted.
Every hero's journey follows the same archetype because all our inner lives do too.
Synonyms
prototype, original, template, model, exemplar
Antonyms
variation, copy, deviation
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Stone Griffin Guardian
An unmistakable stone griffin statue with wings and a lion's body stands as a weathered, recognizable guardian of a garden bridge.
The stone griffin is a classic, universally recognizable archetype of a guardian. Its combined, mythic anatomy recurs across cultural storybooks and literature, serving as a template for the protective, imposing guardian figure that appears in the collective stories of many cultures.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration