Ar'che-type, n.

n. [Fr. archetype, Lat. archetypum, Gr. ἀρχέτυπον, from ἀρχέτυπος, stamped first and as a model, from ἀρχή, beginning, and τύπος, stamp, figure, pattern, from τύπτειν, to strike. See ARCH, a.] 1. The original pattern or model of a work; or the model from which a thing is made. “The House of Commons, the archetype of all representative bodies that now meet.” Macaulay. Types and shadows of that glorious archetype that was to come into the world. South.

2. (Coinage.) The standard weight by which others are adjusted.
3. (Compar. Anat.) The plan or fundamental structure at the basis of each of the kingdoms of life, or the sub-kingdoms in either; as, the vertebrate archetype. Dana.