Word of the Day: ARCHETYPAL

Quintessential or original

archetypal (adj) - perfectly representative as a specimen or the defining example of something; pertaining to the original on which other instances are patterned

BREAKDOWN: ARCH- (chief, first of its type) + -TYPE (kind) + -AL (pertaining to)

• archetype is the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; prototype

See also: archipelago, prototypical

“Any legend, any creature, any symbol we ever stumble on, already exists in a vast cosmic reservoir where archetypes wait... We naturally believe ourselves clever and wise, so advanced, and those who came before us so naïve and simple...when all we truly do is echo the order of the universe, as it guides us.” —Guillermo del Toro