typify

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to be a characteristic example of a person, thing, quality, or class

   The stone arches typify the region's medieval architecture.

2. 2
   verb

   to represent something through a type, image, form, or model

   In the poem, the ruined garden may typify the decline of the family.

Formed from type + -ify. Type comes through Latin typus from Greek typos ("blow, impression, model"); -ify means "make or cause to be." Typify first meant to represent by a type or emblem and later developed the sense "be a characteristic example."

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