Archetype and Original

Archetype

Archetype noun - Something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed.
Usage example: the abacus is sometimes cited as the archetype of the modern digital calculator

Original is a synonym for archetype in model topic. In some cases you can use "Original" instead a noun "Archetype", when it comes to topics like pattern, example, representation, start. popular alternative

Nearby Words: archetypal, archetypical

Original

Original noun - Something from which copies are made.
Usage example: please make copies to hand out, but keep the original

Archetype is a synonym for original in model topic. You can use "Archetype" instead a noun "Original", if it concerns topics such as pattern, standard, example, representation. popular alternative

How words are described

specific specific archetype specific original
complete complete archetype complete original
true true archetype true original
single single archetype single original
Other adjectives: exclusive, actual, real, traditional, classic, different, existing, deconstructed.

Both words in one sentence

  • Video Game / Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Navarre and his Master start out as enemies before joining the party, just like he (and most other members of the archetype he popularized) did in his original appearance.
  • Cultured Badass Robert Garcia is the earliest known example of the trope in fighting games, being the original sharp dressed character archetype and even provides the page image for the Action Fashionista trope.
  • In the BBC's Sherlock, Jim Moriarty, the "consulting criminal", is an even more direct Shadow Archetype to Sherlock Holmes than the original literary character was.
Cite this Source
Original and Archetype. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/archetype/original
Archetype & Original. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/archetype/original>.
Original or Archetype. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/archetype/original.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "archetype" and "original" have occurred on timeline