Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An original type, form, or instance serving as a basis or standard for later stages.
- n. An original, full-scale, and usually working model of a new product or new version of an existing product.
- n. An early, typical example.
- n. Biology A form or species that serves as an original type or example.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A primitive form; an original or model after which anything is formed; the pattern of anything to be engraved, cast, etc.; an exemplar; an archetype; especially, in metrology, an original standard, to which others must conform, and which, though it may be imitated from something else, is not required to conform to anything else, but itself serves as the ultimate definition of a unit. Thus, the mètre des archives is a prototype, and so is the new international meter at Breteuil, although the latter is imitated from the former. But the mètre du conservatoire and the meters distributed by the International Bureau are not prototypes, since they have no authority except from the evidence that they conform to other measures.
Wiktionary
- n. An original object or form which is a basis for other objects, forms, or for its models and generalizations
- n. An early sample or model built to test a concept or process
- n. An instance of a category or a concept that combines its most representative attributes, such as robin being a prototype of bird, unlike penguin.
- v. To create a prototype of.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An original or model after which anything is copied; the pattern of anything to be engraved, or otherwise copied, cast, or the like; a primary form; exemplar; archetype.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a standard or typical example
Etymologies
- French, from Greek prōtotupon, from neuter of prōtotupos, original : prōto-, proto- + tupos, model.
Examples
“Creating different combinations of the prototype is the next design challenge for this project.”
“We show that this preference for the prototype is a function of the prototype being particularly easy to perceive," Winkielman told Reuters on Tuesday.”
“The nearly-complete prototype is sitting on the Taleisin, Arizona campus.”
Sustainable Design Update » Blog Archive » Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taleisin Pre-Fab
“Quick Spin: 2010 Plug-in Prius prototype is just like your mother's Prius, but better”
Lexus shows off new hybrid concept... bicycle? — Autoblog Green
“The PrestaLever, now just in prototype form, will be able to hold tool bits in the handle.”
Technical FAQ with Lennard Zinn: Blowing up tires, taking them off, and more
“If the United-Aer Lingus joint venture prototype is successful, we will soon see such alliances flourishing within the fragile regulatory systems of new European Union members such as Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, where wages are extremely low.”
“According to Air Power Australia, a Russian prototype is at least equal to the F-22 and easily outclasses the F-35, which the Administration has picked as our front-line fighter.”
“We still call it prototype as we feel the fitment is a little off for the US Spec cars with the charcoal canister.”
“The device, which Plastic Logic has shown in prototype form for about a year, will use AT&T's 3G network and Wi-Fi to wirelessly download books and other reading material.”
CES: Plastic Logic flexes newspaper muscle for its Que business e-reader
“We also collated information via online surveys and some people took part in prototype testing our new customised homepage feature”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘prototype’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Words starting with PRO
I've noticed many, many words start with PRO and this is just a collection of them.
professional, pronunciation, Prolagus, probable, prog, proximity, profit, procrastincate, prom, pronoun, promise, proactive and 206 more...
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webdev
random webdev lingo / common words used in computer programming.
( randomness, words )ajax, user, admin, frontend, backend, database, sql, protocol, call, dom, layout, ui and 392 more...
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January 2012
bloviate, pastiche, apparat, facile, paroxysm, pique, bedfellow, pedigree, tutelage, protege, protégé, retroactive and 196 more...
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The Copied
ur-, progenitor, precursor, prototype, forerunner, template, model, version 1.0, alpha, mold, die, standard and 6 more...
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proto-, prot-
original; primitive; first or anterior
prototype, protozoan, protogalaxy, protoplasm, proto-indo-european, protocol, protagonist, proto-Arabic, protoactinium
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Drafts
Word that can be used to describe something that is not yet complete

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