Pattern, n. and adj. 1. a. Something shaped or designed to serve as a model from which a thing is to be made; a design, an outline; an original. 5. b. A sample; a part presented as an example of a larger set or group 7. A precedent; that which may be appealed or referred to as a prior example 9 b. A natural or chance arrangement of shapes or markings having a decorative or striking effect. Oxford English Dictionary
“From a sequence of these individual patterns, whole buildings with the character of nature will form themselves within your thoughts, as easily as sentences.” Christopher Alexander
“In short, no pattern is an isolated entity. Each pattern can exist in the world only to the extent that is supported by other patterns: the larger patterns in which it is embedded, the patterns of the same size that surround it, and the smaller patterns which are embedded in it.” Christopher Alexander