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prototypical

 - 4 dictionary results

pro⋅to⋅type

  [proh-tuh-tahyp] noun, verb -typed, -typ⋅ing.
Use prototypical in a Sentence
–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.
Origin:
1595–1605; < NL prōtotypon < Gk prōtótypon, n. use of neut. of prōtótypos original. See proto-, type

Related forms:
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

Synonyms:
1. pattern.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To prototypical
pro·to·type   (prō'tə-tīp')   
n.  

  1. An original type, form, or instance serving as a basis or standard for later stages.

  2. An original, full-scale, and usually working model of a new product or new version of an existing product.

  3. An early, typical example.

  4. Biology A form or species that serves as an original type or example.


[French, from Greek prōtotupon, from neuter of prōtotupos, original : prōto-, proto- + tupos, model.]
pro'to·typ'al (-tī'pəl), pro'to·typ'ic (-tĭp'ĭk), pro'to·typ'i·cal (-ĭ-kəl) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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.
Cite This Source
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