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Definition of: prototype
(prō′tə·tīp) noun
1. Biol. A primitive or ancestral organism; an archetype: opposed to ectype.
2. A first or original model on which subsequent forms are to be based.
3. An accepted standard to which all others must conform. See synonyms under EXAMPLE, IDEAL, MODEL. [<MF <NL prototypon <Gk. prōtotypon, orig. neut. sing. of prōtotypos original <prōtos first + typos a model]
—pro′to·typ′al (-tī′pəl), pro′to·typ′ic (-tip′ik), pro′to·typ′i·cal adjective
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