PAT'TERN, noun 1. An original or model proposed for imitation; the archetype; an exemplar; that which is to be copies or imitated, either in things or in actions; as the pattern of a machine; a pattern of patience. Christ was the most perfect pattern of rectitude, patience and submission ever exhibited on earth. 2. A specimen; a sample; a part showing the figure or quality of the whole; as a pattern of silk cloth. 3. An instance; an example. 4. Any thing cut of formed into the shape of something to be made after it. To pattern after, to imitate; to follow.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI