Main Entry: ¹mod·el

Pronunciation: \ˈmä-d^əl\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle French modelle, from Old Italian modello, from Vulgar Latin *modellus, from Latin modulus small measure, from modus

Date: 1575

1 obsolete : a set of plans for a building
2 dialect British : copy, image
3 : structural design <a home on the model of an old farmhouse>
4 : a usually miniature representation of something; also : a pattern of something to be made
5 : an example for imitation or emulation
6 : a person or thing that serves as a pattern for an artist; especially : one who poses for an artist
7 : archetype
8 : an organism whose appearance a mimic imitates
9 : one who is employed to display clothes or other merchandise
10 a : a type or design of clothing b : a type or design of product (as a car)
11 : a description or analogy used to help visualize something (as an atom) that cannot be directly observed
12 : a system of postulates, data, and inferences presented as a mathematical description of an entity or state of affairs; also : a computer simulation based on such a system <climate models>
13 : version 3
14 : animal model

synonyms model, example, pattern, exemplar, ideal mean someone or something set before one for guidance or imitation. model applies to something taken or proposed as worthy of imitation <a decor that is a model of good taste>. example applies to a person to be imitated or in some contexts on no account to be imitated but to be regarded as a warning <children tend to follow the example of their parents>. pattern suggests a clear and detailed archetype or prototype <American industry set a pattern for others to follow>. exemplar suggests either a faultless example to be emulated or a perfect typification <cited Joan of Arc as the exemplar of courage>. ideal implies the best possible exemplification either in reality or in conception <never found a job that matched his ideal>.