prototype
PROH-tuh-typenounMeaning a first, trial version of something, built to test it
Memory hook PROTO-TYPE: the FIRST TRY. Kai’s first paper plane flies three feet and nose-dives into the grass. It’s only the prototype; version two will fly farther.
The engineers crashed the prototype on purpose to test its seat belts.
In context Before building a hundred birdhouses for the fair, Dev made a single prototype, left it out in the rain, and then fixed the leaky roof on all the rest.
Similar first version, test model, model, mock-up
Opposite final version, copy
From Greek prototypon, “a first form”: protos (first) + typos (a model).