Added 8 October 2026
paradigm
/ˈpæɹ.ə.daɪm/ noun
Latin root: paradīgma Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about paradigm at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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A pattern, a way of doing something; especially a pattern of thought, a system of beliefs, a conceptual framework.
Thomas Kuhn's landmark “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” got people talking about paradigm shifts, to the point the word itself now suggests an incomplete or biased perspective.
- An example serving as the model for such a pattern; an exceptionally good or prototypical example of a pattern or group.
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A set of all forms which contain a common element, especially the set of all inflectional forms of a word or a particular grammatical category.
The paradigm of "to sing" is "sing, sang, sung". The verb "to ring" follows the same paradigm.
Origin
From Middle English paradygme, from Late Latin paradīgma, from Ancient Greek παράδειγμα (parádeigma, “pattern”), from παραδείκνυμι (paradeíknumi, “I show [beside] or compare”) + -μα (-ma, suffix forming nouns concerning the results of actions). Doublet of paradigma.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)