A prototype is a new type of machine or device which is not yet ready to be made in large numbers and sold.
He built a prototype of a machine called the wave rotor. [+ of]
...the first prototype aircraft.
Synonyms: original, model, precedent, first More Synonyms of prototype
2. countable noun
If you say that someone or something is a prototype of a type of person or thing, you mean that they are the first or most typical one of that type.
He was the prototype of the elder statesman. [+ of]
prototype in British English
(ˈprəʊtəˌtaɪp)
noun
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
Derived forms
prototypal (ˌprotoˈtypal) or prototypic (ˌprəʊtəˈtɪpɪk) or prototypical (ˌprotoˈtypical)
adjective
prototype in American English
(ˈproʊtəˌtaɪp)
noun
1.
the first thing or being of its kind; original; model; pattern; archetype
2.
a person or thing that serves as a model for one of a later period
3.
a full-scale, operational model, used for demonstration or testing, that incorporates a new design or features