: a primitive generalized plan of structure deduced from the characters of a natural group of plants or animals and assumed to be the characteristic of the ancestor from which they are all descended.

The second aspect has archetypal character and is rigorously independent of the means with which a work is composed.

Archetypal definition: of or having the nature of an archetype, or original model or prototype.. See examples of ARCHETYPAL used in a sentence.

Archetypal literary criticism argues that archetypes determine the form and function of literary works and that a text 's meaning is shaped by cultural and psychological myths.

An archetypal thing represents an original type after which other, similar things are patterned. With her green skin, black garb, and evil ways, the Wicked Witch of the West is an archetypal villain.

Definition of archetypal adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

archetypal (ˌɑːkɪˈtaɪpəl) or archetypical adj 1. perfect or typical as a specimen of something 2. being an original model or pattern or a prototype