prototype
Syllables: pro·to·typeUK/ˈpɹəʊtətaɪp//ˈpɹoʊtəˌtaɪp/
prototype noun: an original form or object which is a basis for other forms or objects (particularly manufactured items), or for its generalizations and models.
Noun
prototype (plural prototypes)
- An original form or object which is a basis for other forms or objects (particularly manufactured items), or for its generalizations and models.
- Near-synonym: archetype (sometimes synonymous)
- And if Jordan were but Jaar Eden, that is, the Riuer of Eden, Geneſar but Ganſar or the Prince of Gardens; and it could be made out, that the Plain of Jordan were watered not comparatively, but cauſally, and becauſe it was the Paradiſe of God, as the Learned Abramas hinteth, he was not far from the...1658, Thomas Browne, “The Garden of Cyrus. […]. Chapter I.”, in Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall, […] Together with The Garden of Cyrus, […], London: […] Hen[ry] Brome […], →OCLC, pages 102–103
- An early sample or model built to test a concept or process.
- The prototype had loose wires and rough edges, but it worked.
- General Electric, under contract to the A.E.C., is now building a land-based prototype of this nuclear-power plant at West Milton, N.Y. A land-based prototype of the nuclear-power plant for the "Nautilus," developed jointly by the A.E.C.'s Argonne National Laboratory and the Westinghouse Electric...1952 August, “[Washington Reporting] General Dynamics will Build Second Nuclear Sub”, in The Log, volume 47, number 9, Bristol, Conn.: Miller Freeman Publications, →OCLC, page 24, column 3
- A declaration of a function that specifies the name, return type, and parameters, but none of the body or actual code.
- Like any variable in a C program it is necessary to prototype or declare a function before its use, if it returns a value other than an int. It informs the compiler that the function would be referenced at a later stage in the program. / For example, / In program 1, the statement / void...2005, J. B. Dixit, “Unit-5: Functions and Pointers”, in Sangeeta Dixit, editor, Fundamentals of Computing, new edition, New Delhi: Laxmi Publications, →ISBN, page 355
- An instance of a category or a concept that combines its most representative attributes.
- A robin is a prototype of a bird; a penguin is not.
- If the robin is the prototype of bird, do particular examples of robin constitute that prototype for different people? I think not. Rather, prototypes are themselves categories. Thus, to say that a robin is a prototypic bird is to propose that a class of similar creatures called robin is a...2014, Cecil H. Brown, “A Survey of Category Types in Natural Language”, in S[avas] L. Tsohatzidis, editor, Meanings and Prototypes: Studies in Linguistic Categorization (Routledge Library Editions...
- A type of race car, a racing sports car not based on a production car. A 4-wheeled cockpit-seating car built especially for racing on sports car circuits, that does not use the silhouette related to a consumer road car.
- Synonyms:
- racing prototype, sports prototype, prototype racecar
Verb
prototype (third-person singular simple present prototypes, present participle prototyping, simple past and past participle prototyped)
- To create a prototype of.
- In short, he has purposely perverted the whole case from beginning to end, and distorted it in such a manner, as not to be prototyped except by his own mind; […]1807 July, Alex. Denmark, “[Mr. Denmark, in Answer to Mr. Chalmers.] To the Editors of the Medical and Physical Journal.”, in T. Bradley, R[obert] Batty, editors, The Medical and Physical Journal...
- [Y]ou may form acquaintance with the Wye before it sees the light, by penetrating that interesting cavern, Poole's Hole, as I have several times before. It is a wondrous place, and worthy of a far more dignified name; a sort of crypt in Nature's vast cathedral; an assemblage of all grotesque...1857, Spencer T[imothy] Hall, “The Wye and Dove”, in The Peak and the Plain: Scenes in Woodland, Field, and Mountain, 2nd edition, London: Houlston and Wright, […], →OCLC, page 345
- To imitate or emulate.
prototype meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
prototype in Hindi
- प्रोटोटाइप
prototype in Tamil
- மூலப்படிமம், முதலுரு, முன்வடிவம்
prototype in Marathi
- प्रोटोटाइप
prototype in Urdu
- مثال, نمونہ
More languagesFewer languages
- prototype in Bengali
- প্রোটোটাইপ, প্রোটোটাইপটি, প্রটোটাইপ
- prototype in Telugu
- ప్రోటోటైప్
- prototype in Malayalam
- പ്രരൂപം, ആദർശം, മൂലരൂപം, ആദ്യ മാതൃക
- prototype in Kannada
- ಮೊದಲ ಮಾರ್ಪರಿಜು, ಎತ್ತುಗೆ, ಪರಿಜು, ಮೂಲರೂಪ
- prototype in Punjabi
- ਪ੍ਰੋਟੋਟਾਈਪ, ਪ੍ਰੋਟੋਟਾਇਪ
- prototype in Gujarati
- પ્રોટોટાઇપ, પ્રોટોટાઈપ
- prototype in Odia
- ପ୍ରୋଟୋଟାଇପ୍, ପ୍ରୋଟୋଟାଇପ, ପ୍ରୋଟୋଟାଇପ୍ |
- prototype in Nepali
- प्रोटोटाइप, प्रोटोटाइप (प्रोटोटाइप
- prototype in Arabic
- نموذج namūḏaj
- prototype in Malay
- prototaip, prototipe, purbarupa
- prototype in Indonesian
- prototipe, purwarupa
- prototype in Vietnamese
- nguyên mẫu
Examples of prototype in a sentence
- Only one manuscript of Plautus seems to have escaped the general wreck of ancient literature; and it served as the prototype to all the manuscripts at present extant.1839 August, “Plautus. …”, in Foreign Monthly Review, and Continental Literary Journal, volume I, number IV, London: D[avid] Nutt, […]...
- General Electric, under contract to the A.E.C., is now building a land-based prototype of this nuclear-power plant at West Milton, N.Y.1952 August, “[Washington Reporting] General Dynamics will Build Second Nuclear Sub”, in The Log, volume 47, number 9, Bristol, Conn....
- Like any variable in a C program it is necessary to prototype or declare a function before its use, if it returns a value other than an int.2005, J. B. Dixit, “Unit-5: Functions and Pointers”, in Sangeeta Dixit, editor, Fundamentals of Computing, new edition, New Delhi: Laxmi...
- If the robin is the prototype of bird, do particular examples of robin constitute that prototype for different people?2014, Cecil H. Brown, “A Survey of Category Types in Natural Language”, in S[avas] L. Tsohatzidis, editor, Meanings and Prototypes: Studies...
Synonyms of prototype
Forms of prototype
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | prototypes |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | prototypes |
| present participle | prototyping |
| past participle | prototyped |
| past | prototyped |
Origin of prototype
From French prototype or Late Latin prototypon, from Ancient Greek πρωτότυπος (prōtótupos, “original; prototype”), from πρωτο- (prōto-, “first”) (from πρῶτος (prôtos, “first; earliest”)) + τῠ́πος (tŭ́pos, “blow, pressing; sort, type”) (from τύπτω (túptō, “to beat, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- (“to push; to stick”)). The word is analysable as proto- + -type.
Words formed from prototype
- prototype racing
- pretotype
- prototypable
- prototypal
- prototype-based
- prototype-based language
- prototype-based programming
- prototype-based scripting language
- prototype extension
- prototype-oriented
- prototype-oriented programming
- prototype pattern
- prototype theory
- prototypic
- prototypical
- prototypicality
- prototypically
- prototyping
Phrases with prototype
Questions about prototype
- What does prototype mean?
- Prototype means an original form or object which is a basis for other forms or objects (particularly manufactured items), or for its generalizations and models.
- What is prototype in Hindi?
- Prototype in Hindi is प्रोटोटाइप. See Prototype meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use prototype in a sentence?
- Only one manuscript of Plautus seems to have escaped the general wreck of ancient literature; and it served as the prototype to all the manuscripts at present extant.
- What part of speech is prototype?
- Prototype can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce prototype?
- Prototype is pronounced /ˈpɹəʊtətaɪp/ (UK).
- What is the plural of prototype?
- The plural of prototype is prototypes.
Words near prototype in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: prototype (page history and authors); prototype (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); prototype (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); prototype (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); prototype (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); prototype (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); prototype (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); prototype (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); prototype (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); prototype (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); prototype (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); prototype (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); prototype (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-prototype.ogg, en-au-prototype.ogg.
Cite this entry: “prototype.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/prototype. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.