stereotype
/ˈstɛriətaɪp/
noun
Origin
French
stéréotype — printing from a solid plate
Overview
Meaning Now
- A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.
- A printing plate cast from a mould of a composed type surface.
Literal older meaning
solid impression
Language path
Ancient Greek → French → English
Earliest form
stéréotype
Earliest period
late 18th century
Journey
The term originated in the printing industry as a method of duplicating a page by taking a cast of the type, creating a durable, solid plate. By the mid-19th century, the word began to be used figuratively to describe something that is repeated or reproduced without variation, eventually shifting to the social psychological sense of an oversimplified mental image.
Evolution
- Ancient Greek
στερεός
“solid, firm”
- Ancient Greek
τύπος
“impression, mark, model”
- French, 1798
stéréotype
“a process of printing using a fixed metal plate”
Coined by Firmin Didot.
- English, 1850
stereotype
“fixed, unvarying mental conception”
Metaphorical extension from the printing process.
Connections
Word parts
stereo-
prefix
solid
-type
root
impression/model
Related across languages
French
stéréotype
stereotype
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Related to stereotype
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.