n.
Pronunciation: ' mä-d ə l
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French modelle, from Old Italian modello, from Vulgar Latin *modellus, from Latin modulus small measure, from modus
Date: 1575
1 obsolete : a set of plans for a building
2 dialect British : COPY , IMAGE
3 : structural design <a home on the model of an old farmhouse>
4 : a usually miniature representation of something also : a pattern of something to be made
5 : an example for imitation or emulation
6 : a person or thing that serves as a pattern for an artist especially : one who poses for an artist
7 : ARCHETYPE
8 : an organism whose appearance a mimic imitates
9 : one who is employed to display clothes or other merchandise
10 a : a type or design of clothing b : a type or design of product (as a car)
11 : a description or analogy used to help visualize something (as an atom) that cannot be directly observed
12 : a system of postulates, data, and inferences presented as a mathematical description of an entity or state of affairs also : a computer simulation based on such a system <climate model s >
13 : VERSION 3
14 : ANIMAL MODEL
synonyms MODEL , EXAMPLE , PATTERN , EXEMPLAR , IDEAL mean someone or something set before one for guidance or imitation. MODEL applies to something taken or proposed as worthy of imitation <a decor that is a model of good taste>. EXAMPLE applies to a person to be imitated or in some contexts on no account to be imitated but to be regarded as a warning <children tend to follow the example of their parents>. PATTERN suggests a clear and detailed archetype or prototype <American industry set a pattern for others to follow>. EXEMPLAR suggests either a faultless example to be emulated or a perfect typification <cited Joan of Arc as the exemplar of courage>. IDEAL implies the best possible exemplification either in reality or in conception <never found a job that matched his ideal >.