Word of the Day: PARADIGM

par·a·digm

noun \ˈper-ə-ˌdīm, ˈpa-rə- also –ˌdim\

: a model or pattern for something that may be copied

: a theory or a group of ideas about how something should be done, made, or thought about

Full Definition of PARADIGM

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 adjective

— par·a·dig·mat·i·cal·ly adverb

Examples of PARADIGM

1. Her recent book provides us with a new paradigm for modern biography.
2. the Freudian paradigm of psychoanalysis
3. a new study that challenges the current evolutionary paradigm
4. And the paradigm of a thing to be philosophical about is death. —Jim Holt, New York Times Book Review, 15 Feb. 2009
5. Such problems drive home a critical flaw in the paradigm of energy independence—namely, that energy isn’t a zero-sum game anymore. —Paul Roberts, Mother Jones, May/June 2008
6. That the biomedical paradigm of single cause and single disease was a chimera was well understood by even its most vigorous advocates. —Allan M. Brandt, The Cigarette Century, 2007

Origin of PARADIGM

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

First Known Use: 15th century

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paradigm