prototype
[ proh-tuh-tahyp ]
/ ˈproʊ təˌtaɪp /
noun
the original or model on which something is based or formed.
someone or something that serves to illustrate the typical qualities of a class; model; exemplar: She is the prototype of a student activist.
something analogous to another thing of a later period: a Renaissance prototype of our modern public housing.
Biology.
an archetype; a primitive form regarded as the basis of a group.
verb (used with object), pro·to·typed, pro·to·typ·ing.
to create the prototype or an experimental model of: to prototype a solar-power car.
Origin of prototype
OTHER WORDS FROM prototype
pro·to·typ·al, pro·to·typ·i·cal [proh-tuh-tip-i-kuhl] /ˌproʊ təˈtɪp ɪ kəl/, pro·to·typ·ic, adjective pro·to·typ·i·cal·ly, adverbWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH prototype
archetype prototypeWords nearby prototype
protostele,
protostome,
prototherian,
prototroph,
prototrophic,
prototype,
protovertebra,
protoxide,
protoxylem,
protozoa,
protozoan
Example sentences from the Web for prototypical
British Dictionary definitions for prototypical
prototype
/ (ˈprəʊtəˌtaɪp) /
noun
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
a person or thing that serves as an example of a type
biology
the ancestral or primitive form of a species or other group; an archetype
Derived forms of prototype
prototypal, prototypic (ˌprəʊtəˈtɪpɪk) or prototypical, adjectiveMedical definitions for prototypical
prototype
[ prō′tə-tīp′ ]
n.
A primitive or ancestral form or species.