prototype

[proh-tuh-tahyp] /ˈproʊ təˌtaɪp/
noun
1.
the original or model on which something is based or formed.
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), prototyped, prototyping.
5.
to create the prototype or an experimental model of:
to prototype a solar-power car.
Origin
1595-1605; < Neo-Latin prōtotypon < Greek prōtótypon, noun use of neuter of prōtótypos original. See proto-, type
Related forms
prototypal, prototypical
[proh-tuh-tip-i-kuh l] /ˌproʊ təˈtɪp ɪ kəl/ (Show IPA), prototypic, adjective
prototypically, adverb
Can be confused
archetype, prototype.
Synonyms
1. pattern.
Examples from the web for prototype
  • The museum is also home to a prototype model with a clear case, currently in storage.
  • Nor would they have been so convincing a prototype to millions of outside admirers.
  • One prototype, a stereoscopic helmet worn by the surgeon, left users seasick after only a few minutes.
  • Professionals would not go near earlier, prototype digital cameras.
  • There are already prototype plants and they are perfect partners for existing refineries.
  • Fiat, he says, did not even make a prototype for crash testing.
  • No one has yet tested the tablet or seen anything other than photos of a prototype.
  • The prototype does not use fuels or electric resistor to heat the air.
  • Cars powered by fuel cells are in prototype stages now, nearing production.
  • We started working together to build a prototype of the marine particle skimmer, a device to pick up small particles of plastic.
British Dictionary definitions for prototype

prototype

/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
prototypal, prototypic (ˌprəʊtəˈtɪpɪk), prototypical, adjective
Word Origin and History for prototype
n.

c.1600, from French prototype (16c.) and directly from Medieval Latin prototypus "original, primitive," from Greek prototypon "a first or primitive form," noun use of neuter singular of prototypos "original, primitive," from protos "first" (see proto-) + typos "impression, mold, pattern" (see type (n.)). In English from 1590s as prototypon.

prototype in Medicine

prototype pro·to·type (prō'tə-tīp')
n.
A primitive or ancestral form or species.