Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: Late Latin
Origin: paradigma, from Greek paradeigma, from paradeiknynai 'to show side by side'

paradigm

 noun
     
par‧a‧digm [countable]
1 technical a model or example that shows how something works or is produced
paradigm of
the basic paradigm of the family tree
2 formal a very clear or typical example of something
paradigm of
Pius XII remained the paradigm of what a pope should be.
—paradigmatic adjective
—paradigmatically adverb
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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