<p><strong>Adjective</strong></p><ul><li>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.</li><li>illustrating the typical qualities of a class or group: Scotty played center field as a quick, prototypical lead-off hitter.</li><li>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.</li></ul>