paradigm

n. model, ideal; mold, form; example, pattern

Since the late 1960s, the word paradigm has referred to a thought pattern in any scientific discipline or other epistemological context. Initially the word was specific to grammar: the 1900 Merriam-Webster dictionary defines its technical use only in the context of grammar or, in rhetoric, as a term for an illustrative parable or fable. In linguistics, Ferdinand de Saussure used paradigm to refer to a class of elements with similarities.
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Noun
1. systematic arrangement of all the inflected forms of a word
(hypernym) inflection, inflexion
2. a standard or typical example; "he is the prototype of good breeding"; "he provided America with an image of the good father"
(synonym) prototype, epitome, image
(hypernym) model, example
(hyponym) concentrate
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)
(synonym) substitution class
(hypernym) class, category, family
4. the generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given time; "he framed the problem within the psychoanalytic paradigm"
(hypernym) position, view, perspective

(n.)
An illustration, as by a parable or fable.
  

(n.)
An example; a model; a pattern.
  

(n.)
An example of a conjugation or declension, showing a word in all its different forms of inflection.
  

a basic theory, a conceptual framework within which theories (scientific) are constructed (see mindset).