archetypum

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [arˈkʰɛ.ty.pũː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [arˈkɛː.ti.pum]^[1]

Forms

archetypum n (genitive archetypī); second declension^[1] It is also spelled archetypon.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀρχέτυπον (arkhétupon, “original, pattern”), the neuter of ⟨archetypus⟩ used as a noun.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Varro, whom he dates 116–27 BC, and Gaffiot cites his De re rustica.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

It meant an original, a pattern, a model, as in Varro and Pliny the Younger.^[2][4]

It survives in Italian archetipo and Spanish arquetipo, and gave English archetype in the 1540s or about 1600, “model, first form”.^[1][5]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it.^[3][4]
• c. 1600 – English archetype is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. An original, pattern, archetype.^[2]

Related words

• archetypus
• English archetype

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com