prototype

[ proh-tuh-tahyp ]

noun

1. the original or model on which something is based or formed.

   Synonyms: pattern

2. someone or something that serves to illustrate the typical qualities of a class; model; exemplar:

   She is the prototype of a student activist.

3. something analogous to another thing of a later period:

   a Renaissance prototype of our modern public housing.

4. Biology. an archetype; a primitive form regarded as the basis of a group.

verb (used with object)

, pro·to·typed, pro·to·typ·ing.

1. to create the prototype or an experimental model of:

   to prototype a solar-power car.

prototype

/ ˌprəʊtəˈtɪpɪk; ˈprəʊtəˌtaɪp /

noun

1. one of the first units manufactured of a product, which is tested so that the design can be changed if necessary before the product is manufactured commercially
2. a person or thing that serves as an example of a type
3. biology the ancestral or primitive form of a species or other group; an archetype

Derived Forms

• ˌprotoˈtypal, adjective

Other Words From

• pro·to·typ·i·cal [proh-t, uh, -, tip, -i-k, uh, l]; pro·to·typ·ic pro·to·typ·al [proh-t, uh, -, tip, -, uh, l], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prototype¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from New Latin prōtotypon, from Greek prōtótypon, noun use of neuter of prōtótypos “original”; proto-, type

Related Words

• mock-up
• model
• precursor