prototype

Short definition from Wiktionary

Noun

1. 1
   An original form or object which is a basis for other forms or objects (particularly manufactured items), or for its generalizations and models.
2. 2
   An early sample or model built to test a concept or process.
3. 3
   A declaration of a function that specifies the name, return type, and parameters, but none of the body or actual code.
4. 4
   An instance of a category or a concept that combines its most representative attributes.
5. 5
   A type of race car, a racing sports car not based on a production car. A 4-wheeled cockpit-seating car built especially for racing on sports car circuits, that does not use the silhouette related to a consumer road car.

Verb

1. 1
   To create a prototype of.
2. 2
   To imitate or emulate.