Typ

Typ, plural Typen, is a German noun meaning type or kind and is used across science, linguistics, technology, and everyday speech to denote a category or model. The word derives from Latin typus, via Greek typos, meaning "model, imprint, form."

In biology and archaeology, typology uses Typus to designate a reference form. In taxonomy, the type specimen (Holotypus, Lectotypus) anchors the name of a species. Typology classifies artifacts or cultural traits into discrete types based on shared features.

In typography, Typ historically referred to a movable type piece used in letterpress printing, and by extension to a font or typeface. Today these notions are usually expressed with Schriftart or Schrifttyp; Typ survives in compounds and historic terms like Typografie.

In computing, Typ is used as the German equivalent of "type," notably as Datentyp or Variablentyp, describing the kind of data a variable can hold.

Colloquially, ein Typ refers to a person of a certain character, often used for "a guy" or "a character" in informal speech.