typical
/ˈtɪp.ɪ.kəl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.59 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Characteristically representing something by form, group, idea or type.
adj
Example Sentences
- "Compare this with, for instance, the heights of adult humans. They certainly lie within half an order of magnitude from a mean of about 1.7 m, being within the interval 5.4–0.54 m (18–1.8 ft). It is obvious from our three examples—the height of a person, household income in the United States, and the area of EU countries—that the concept of what is typical or characteristic depends on the case one refers to. Nevertheless, even vague measures can have a useful meaning in a comparison with something that is very different. For instance, the area of EU countries is typically much larger than the area of the city of New York, although Malta is actually smaller."
- "Also perpetual is the practice of extending greetings and best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year. The most typical traditional greeting is gong xi fa cai (for prosperity). And it certainly has been the most appropriate one since China in late 1978 denounced the political upheaval of the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) and launched its large-scale reform and development programmes."
- "One typical Grecian kiln engorged one thousand muleloads of juniper wood in a single burn. Fifty such kilns would devour six thousand metric tons of trees and brush annually."
- "Celticecis species are definitely known only from the typical subgenus of Celtis, distributed through much of the Holarctic Region."
- "Antipsychotic drugs can be divided into typicals and atypicals."
- "Among the moths, typicals were more common than melanics."
Etymology
From Late Latin typicalis, from Latin typicus (“typical”), from Ancient Greek τυπικός (tupikós, “of or pertaining to a type, conformable, typical”), from τύπος (túpos, “mark, impression, type”), equivalent to typic + -al and type + -ical.
Origin
- Source language: Latin