prototypical

Sometimes pro·to·typ·al
Also pro·to·typ·ic

[proh-tuh-tip-i-kuhl]

adjective

1. being the original or model on which something is based or formed.

   Even Los Angeles, the prototypical American automobile city, is rapidly expanding its public transit infrastructure.

2. illustrating the typical qualities of a class or group.

   Scotty played center field as a quick, prototypical lead-off hitter.

   The International Harvester Farmall letter series, well-built and affordable, became an iconic symbol of the prototypical American small-farm tractor.

3. Biology.,  being a primitive form regarded as the basis of a group; archetypal.

   She graduated with a degree in biology, having conducted her senior thesis research on virulence factors of vaccinia, the prototypical poxvirus.

Other Word Forms

• prototypically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of prototypical¹

prototyp(e) ( def. ) + -ical ( def. )

Related Words

• archetypal 
• quintessential