What is a word that can function as the inverse of a duplicate question on Stack Exchange? I was looking, in the context of this question on meta, for such a word to distinguish the closed duplicate from the one it was closed as a duplicate of. The relationship is not simply an equal one between duplicate and duplicate, but more like the one between original and copy (where I seek the word for the original). I eventually just coined the word anti-duplicate, but a coined word hardly seems a satisfactory solution.
Possible words include:
- Any of original, pattern, model, and example/exemplar seem to imply designed similarity. I don't completely understand the nuances of paradigm, but it sounds like it belongs in this category as well.
- Standard, ideal, and benchmark come close, but imply official or objective standards, which no question on SE can be. (Can it?)
- Archetype/archetypical comes close, but the NOAD under the Usage for "model" says, "An archetype is a perfect and unchanging form that existing things or people can approach but never duplicate." Duplicate questions, however, have approached and duplicated the anti-duplicate.
- Prototype/prototypical comes close as well, but under the aforementioned usage entry the NOAD says, "a prototype is an early, usually unrefined version of something that later versions reflect but may depart from." The anti-duplicate, in contrast, is the refined version, at least in theory, and again, the duplicate has been thus marked because it did not depart from the anti-duplicate.
While I seek a different word, I note that if any of the above can be shown to be correct, or if no single word can be found, but a phrase can, either of those will do as well.
Best Answer
Not sure if this helps, but original has the following senses.
You say original comes with the notion of "designed similarity", but perhaps we can call a post "original" if it simply precedes the newer one in time.