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.
Derivatives:
archetypal adj. archetypical adj.
Etymology: L archetypum f. Gk arkhetupon (as ARCH-, tupos stamp)