If you use a totally new word it is unlikely to be adopted since it has no context and no history, and therefore no agreed meaning. You therefore need a term that has enough acquired context to be strong and meaningful, but not so much context that it can be interpreted as almost anything. Therefore the acquired context is necessary for adoption and interpretation, and so long as the new context in which you want to use the word is made sufficiently clear, there is no problem.
To me, as a lifelong speaker of English, “archetype” means a thing that has a significant number of characteristics that are relevant to the current context. It is not confined to biology - it can apply to people and inanimate objects, but nobody is confused by that.
Ultimately, your archetypal judge of English words is the Oxford English Dictionary - obtainable in all good libraries. It will give you a complete list of meanings and contexts, so usage will be apparent. If you get really neurotic about it, add Roget’s Thesaurus to the mix and buy in a bottle of good wine to sharpen your critical faculties.
Julian
> On 15 Aug 2018, at 15:52, Manfred Drack <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Dear All!
>
> thanks for the quick responses!
>
> »Archetype« sounds good, but one has to be aware that (throughout history) it has many different connotations. In biology alone the term was used with various meanings; e.g. for a non-concrete (imagined) organism that shows the common traits of a group of organisms (cf. Bauplan, homology); or in a preformistic notion the archetype refers to the germ from which the organism develops (A. von Haller).
>
> »Biological inspiration«, I think is already a step further, being the mental act in which you take something from the biological system to work on it further.
>
> »Bio-analogue« and »biological analogue« sound for me like you already have a technical problem that needs to be solved.
>
> So, still, I am not sure.
>
> Kind regards,
> Manfred
>
>
> Am 15.08.2018 um 15:59 schrieb Julian Vincent:
>> If you wanted a new word, you could have Mimeotype.
>> Julian
>>> On 15 Aug 2018, at 13:51, Manfred Drack <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear All!
>>>
>>> I wonder if some English native speakers could help me on an important term in biomimetics. What is the proper name for the biological system from which the idea for a technical application is taken?
>>>
>>> The German word »Vorbild« is useful, but there is no good translation for it. Recently, German native speakers tend to use the term »role model«, which is strange, because it refers to a person. Furthermore, I found »concept generator« and »natural template«, which are more useful, but still not very good terms.
>>>
>>> Suggestions?
>>>
>>> Kind regards,
>>> Manfred Drack
>>>
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