Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Paradigm \Par"a*digm\, n. [F. paradigme, L. paradigma, fr. Gr.
   ?, fr. ? to show by the side of, to set up as an example; ?
   beside + ? to show. See {Para-}, and {Diction}.]
   1. An example; a model; a pattern. [R.] ``The paradigms and
      patterns of all things.'' --Cudworth.

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

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

Source : WordNet®

paradigm
     n 1: systematic arrangement of all the inflected forms of a word
     2: a standard or typical example; "he is the prototype of good
        breeding"; "he provided America with an image of the good
        father" [syn: {prototype}, {epitome}, {image}]
     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) [syn: {substitution
        class}]
     4: the generally accepted perspective of a particular
        discipline at a given time; "he framed the problem within
        the psychoanalytic paradigm"