Holotype

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A single representative specimen that provides the authoritative reference for the identification of a species within the context of taxonomy
2. An original sample selected to serve as a definitive example for describing and classifying a newly recognized species
3. A specimen designated as the primary reference point for the identification and classification of a particular species in the field of taxonomy

Etymology: "Holotype" is a plain technical compound, built from the Greek prefix "holo-", meaning "whole" or "entire," and "-type," from Greek "typos," meaning "impression" or "model." Taxonomists use it for the one specimen a species is formally tied to: when a new species is described, the holotype is the physical example that fixes what the name refers to, so any later dispute about the species can be settled by returning to it. The "holo-" element is the same one found in words like "holistic" and "hologram," and the "-type" element shows up across the sciences in "prototype" and "stereotype." Put together, the word describes a single specimen that stands as the complete model for an entire species, a sense that the parts were chosen to convey.