Main Entry:

par·a·digm

Pronunciation:

\ˈper-ə-ˌdīm, ˈpa-rə- also -ˌdim\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Late Latin paradigma, from Greek paradeigma, from paradeiknynai to show side by side, from para- + deiknynai to show — more at diction

Date:

15th century

1: example, pattern ; especially : an outstandingly clear or typical example or archetype2: an example of a conjugation or declension showing a word in all its inflectional forms3: a philosophical and theoretical framework of a scientific school or discipline within which theories, laws, and generalizations and the experiments performed in support of them are formulated ; broadly : a philosophical or theoretical framework of any kind

— par·a·dig·mat·ic \ˌper-ə-dig-ˈma-tik, ˌpa-rə-\ adjective

— par·a·dig·mat·i·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb