From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englisharchetypear‧che‧type /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp $ ˈɑːr-/ noun [countable usually singular] TYPICALa perfect example of something, because it has all the most important qualities of things that belong to that typearchetype of France is the archetype of the centralized nation-state. —archetypal /ˌɑːkɪˈtaɪpəl◂ $ ˌɑːr-/ adjective Byron was the archetypal Romantic hero.
Examples from the Corpus
archetype• Each needs an archetype, a gold standard, to allow their specimens to be put in the correct cabinet.• My conception of Il trovatore is that here are what Jung called archetypes.• The biblical Mary is a powerful cultural archetype whose story has spoken to women across the centuries.• In the true manner of archetypes it was probably realized as a feedback symbol independently more than once.• Innovation should be the correct interpretation of the archetype, the prototype.• Thus, the value of bedtime snacks, of which milk and cookies are still the archetype.archetype of• For most of us, France is the archetype of the centralized nation-state.Origin archetype (1500-1600) Latin archetypum, from Greek, from archein ( → ARCH-) + typos “type” 