pro·to·type

[proh-tuh-tahyp] noun, verb, pro·to·typed, pro·to·typ·ing.
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)
5.
to create the prototype or an experimental model of: to prototype a solar-power car.
00:10
Prototypes is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

Origin:
1595–1605; < Neo-Latin prōtotypon < Greek prōtótypon, noun use of neuter of prōtótypos original. See proto-, type

pro·to·typ·al, pro·to·typ·i·cal [proh-tuh-tip-i-kuhl] , pro·to·typ·ic, adjective
pro·to·typ·i·cal·ly, adverb

archetype, prototype.


1. pattern.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
prototype (ˈprəʊtəˌtaɪp) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
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
 
proto'typal
 
adj
 
prototypic
 
adj
 
proto'typical
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

prototype
1603, from Fr. prototype, from M.L. prototypon, from Gk. prototypon "a first or primitive form," prop. neut. sing. of prototypos "original, primitive," from protos "first" + typos "impression."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

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

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
Many firms around the world are starting to build prototypes.
Moreover, prototypes can be built directly from the computer models.
In fact, it wouldn't be surprising if this paper was a forerunner for practical
  work being done to develop prototypes.
We endeavour to learn from examples such as these to base our metapsychological
  conjectures on such prototypes.
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