n. 1 a an original model; a prototype. b a typical specimen. 2 (in Jungian psychology) a primitive mental image inherited from man's earliest ancestors, and supposed to be present in the collective unconscious. 3 a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, etc. archetypal adj. archetypical adj.
[ L archetypum f. Gk arkhetupon (as ARCH-, tupos stamp) ]