Word of the Day - 07/08/26
paradigm
/'pærədaɪm/(n.): a standard or typical example
Her innovative design became a paradigm for sustainable architecture.
(n.): the generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given time
Newtonian physics represented the dominant paradigm in scientific thought for centuries until Einstein's theories emerged.
Word Origin
The word 'paradigm' originates from Late Latin 'paradigma', which comes from the Ancient Greek 'paradeigma' (παράδειγμα). The Greek word is formed from 'para-' (παρά-), meaning 'beside' or 'alongside', and 'deiknyai' (δεικνύναι), meaning 'to show' or 'to point out'. The suffix '-ma' is a noun-forming suffix indicating the result of an action. Thus, 'paradigm' literally refers to 'a showing alongside' or 'an example' or 'a model'.
The root 'deiknyai' ('to show/point out') is related to the Proto-Indo-European root *deik-, which is also the source of Latin 'dicere' ('to say, speak') and 'digitus' ('finger'). Therefore, words like 'index' (from Latin 'indicare' - 'to point out') and 'diction' (from Latin 'dicere' - 'to say') share a common distant linguistic ancestor with the 'deiknyai' component of 'paradigm'.