Something that serves as an early version, model, or indication of what something will become in the future; a prototype or predecessor.
From 'fore-' (before) + 'type' (a model or representation). Developed in religious and scholarly contexts from Greek 'typos' meaning image or impression, originally used in theology to describe Old Testament foreshadowing.
Medieval theologians used 'foretype' to argue that figures like Moses were foreytpes of Jesus, essentially claiming history itself was a carefully planned narrative—making this a word that shaped how Western culture thought about destiny and meaning.
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