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 archetype
2 : an example of a conjugation or declension showing a word in all its inflectional forms
3 : 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