[pro.to.type] n [F, fr. Gk prototypon, fr. neut. of prototypos archetypal, fr. prot- + typos type] (1552) 1: an original model on which something is patterned: archetype
2: an individual that exhibits the essential features of a later type
3: a standard or typical example
4: a first full-scale and usu. functional form of a new type or design of a construction (as an airplane)