n. 1
Model, example. Something from which a copy is made; a model or outline.
The wallpaper had a floral pattern.
n. 2
Model, example. Someone or something seen as an example to be imitated; an exemplar.
n. 3
Model, example. A sample; of coins, an example which was struck but never minted.
v. 1
To apply a pattern.

Related words

Word family: patternless
Phrases: male pattern baldness pattern up dark pattern façade pattern facade pattern factory method pattern factory pattern iterator pattern

Forms

Plural: patterns → shapes, forms, styles, types…
Past participle: patterned
e.g. patterned → modeled, mirrored, followed, imitated…

Choose the right word

Pattern, Exemplum, Example, Model, Warning or Sample?

exemplum) example derives the seemingly contradictory meanings, on the one hand of a pattern or model, and on the other hand of a warning--a sample or specimen of what is to be followed, or of what is to be shunned.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

type This is the same type of camera as the one I lost.
style The hair style of the Beatles created a sensation.
shape Ken'nichi made a pond in the shape of Lake Geneva.
design Honeycomb design may improve thin-film solar cells.
dynamic It might change the dynamic of our relationship.
normal The patient's pulse and blood pressure are normal.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
pattern		falling
type		falling
style		rising
shape		steady
design		steady
dynamic		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: form¹, type¹, plan¹, rule¹, mold¹
5 letters: style¹, model², shape¹, mould¹, forme
6 letters: design², figure², follow², normal², mirror²
7 letters: example³, fashion², formula³, dynamic³, imitate³, paragon³, stencil²
8 letters: original⁴, practice², standard², instance², template², specimen³, paradigm³, practise², exemplar³
9 letters: prototype³, precedent³, blueprint², archetype³
10 letters: convention³, categorize⁴, categorise
12 letters: tessellation

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (model² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: patron
Italiano: patrono
Español: empresario
Deutsch: Schirmherr