[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

paradigm \par"adigm\, n. f. paradigme, l. paradigma, fr. gr.
   ?, fr. ? to show by the side of, to set up as an example;
   para` beside + ? to show. see para-, and diction.
   1913 webster
   1. an example; a model; a pattern. r. "the paradigms and
      patterns of all things." --cudworth.
      1913 webster

   2. gram. an example of a conjugation or declension, showing
      a word in all its different forms of inflection.
      1913 webster

   3. rhet. an illustration, as by a parable or fable.
      1913 webster

   4. science a theory providing a unifying explanation for a
      set of phenomena in some field, which serves to suggest
      methods to test the theory and develop a fuller
      understanding of the topic, and which is considered useful
      until it is be replaced by a newer theory providing more
      accurate explanations or explanations for a wider range of
      phenomena.
      pjc paradigmatic
see also:
para- diction 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

paradigm
     n 1: systematic arrangement of all the inflected forms of a word
     2: a standard or typical example; "he is the prototype of good
        breeding"; "he provided america with an image of the good
        father" syn: prototype, epitome, image
     3: the class of all items that can be substituted into the same
        position or slot in a grammatical sentence are in
        paradigmatic relation with one another syn: substitution
        class
     4: the generally accepted perspective of a particular
        discipline at a given time; "he framed the problem within
        the psychoanalytic paradigm"
see also:
prototype epitome image substitution class 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

63 moby thesaurus words for "paradigm":
   ic analysis, accidence, affix, affixation, allomorph, antetype,
   antitype, archetype, beau ideal, biotype, bound morpheme,
   classic example, conjugation, criterion, cutting, declension,
   derivation, difference of form, enclitic, epitome, example,
   exemplar, formative, free form, fugleman, fugler, genotype, ideal,
   imitatee, immediate constituent analysis, infix, infixation,
   inflection, lead, mirror, model, morph, morpheme,
   morphemic analysis, morphemics, morphology, morphophonemics,
   original, pattern, precedent, prefix, prefixation, proclitic,
   prototype, radical, representative, root, rule, standard, stem,
   suffix, suffixation, theme, type, type species, type specimen,
   urtext, word-formation

Paradigm >> P Words
Paradigm, definition of term: Paradigm
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