Ar"che*type (är"kē*tīp), n.
[L. archetypum, Gr. 'arche`typon, fr.
'arche`typos stamped first and as model; 'arche =
'archi + ty`pos stamp, figure, pattern,
ty`ptein to strike: cf. F. archétype. See Arch-
, pref.] 1. The original pattern or model
of a work; or the model from which a thing is made or formed.
The House of Commons, the archetype of all the
representative assemblies which now meet.
Macaulay.
Types and shadows of that glorious archetype that was
to come into the world.
South.
2. (Coinage) The standard weight or coin by
which others are adjusted.
3. (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; as, the vertebrate
archetype.