paradigm
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\n \n Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 16, 2024 is:\n \n
\n \n\n paradigm • \\PAIR-uh-dyme\\ • noun
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Paradigm is a formal word that refers to a pattern or example, and especially to an outstandingly clear or typical example or archetype. It can also refer to a theory or group of ideas about how something should be done, made, or thought about.
\n\n// Her latest book provides us with a new paradigm for modern biography.
\n\n// Several speakers at the conference focused their presentations on challenging what has been a dominant educational paradigm.
\n\n\n \n \n\n Examples:
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\u201cIn a music paradigm that\u2019s increasingly focused on individual tracks, artists still have a chance to make a bigger statement about the world, and themselves, through larger collections that can explore a variety of styles and emotions.\u201d \u2014 Tom Roland, Billboard, 23 Jan. 2024
\n \n \n\n Did you know?
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Paradigm comes from the Greek verb paradeiknynai, meaning \u201cto show side by side.\u201d It has been used in English to mean \u201cexample\u201d or \u201cpattern\u201d since the 15th century. There is debate, however, about what kind of example qualifies as a paradigm. Some people say it\u2019s a typical example, while others insist it must be an outstanding or perfect example. The scientific community has added to the confusion by using paradigm to mean \u201ca theoretical framework,\u201d a sense popularized by American scientist Thomas S. Kuhn in the second edition of his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, published in 1970. Some usage commentators now advise avoiding the term entirely on the grounds that it is overused, but we contend that it can sometimes make a useful, conversation-enriching replacement for idea, theory, or concept, as in \u201can article about sandwiches that shifts the paradigm by including hot dogs.\u201d
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