Pattern

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpatən/

Definitions

1. A repeated or regular arrangement of shapes, colors, sounds, or other elements that forms a recognizable design or sequence
2. A systematic arrangement of elements that recurs in a predictable manner, often seen in various contexts such as art, behavior, or nature
3. An observable regularity or sequence within configurations of objects or ideas that facilitates recognition and prediction

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "pattern" is that its ancestor meant a model to be copied rather than the copy itself. In Middle English, "patron" could mean a model or example, and a patron in that sense was something you were meant to imitate. The sense of a commissioning benefactor, the usual meaning of "patron" today, came from the same Medieval Latin source, "patrōnus," which meant protector or defender. That older "example" sense explains the shift. Through Old French, the word came into English as "paterne" and then "patten," and the notion of a thing to follow gradually became the notion of the design left behind when something is repeated. The word is a doublet of "padrone," "patron," "Patronus," and "patroon," all descended from the same Latin root, which is why the modern spelling "pattern" looks so different from the protector sense that "patron" kept.

Synonyms: design, model, template, arrangement, framework

Antonyms: disorder, chaos