prototype
n. countablen. the first version of a new product or idea. It is used to test how well something works before making many more of them.
n. an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. Often serves as the basis for future development or mass production.
The engineers are testing the new car prototype today.
After building a digital prototype of the app, the designers asked users for feedback to fix any navigation issues.
The transition from a rough prototype to a market-ready product requires rigorous testing to ensure that the initial design can withstand real-world conditions and heavy usage.
From French prototype or Late Latin prototypon, from Ancient Greek πρωτότυπος (prōtótupos, “original; prototype”), from πρωτο- (prōto-, “first”) (from πρῶτος (prôtos, “first; earliest”)) + τῠ́πος (tŭ́pos, “blow, pressing; sort, type”) (from τύπτω (túptō, “to beat, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- (“to push; to stick”)). The word is analysable as proto- + -type.
Commonly used with verbs like 'build', 'develop', or 'test'.