Mockup

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A prototype model made to display the design or functionality of a product ; a visual representation used to show how something will appear in finished form
2. An initial version or sample created to test or demonstrate a concept ; an image or layout illustrating the expected appearance or arrangement
3. A physical or digital sample built for evaluation or demonstration purposes ; a graphic depiction that previews a final product's look or setup

Etymology: "Mockup" is a compound of "mock" and "up," and its literal sense is more surprising than its current use. "Mock" comes from Old French "mocquer," meaning to deride or jeer, and it passed into English with the sense of imitating in order to ridicule before taking on the sense of a copy or substitute. "Up" supplies the sense of something built or set up, so a mockup is literally something set up as a stand-in. The compound is most closely associated with engineering and design, where a full-size or scale model is built to show how a finished product will look and fit together before any real production begins. The term is the noun form of the phrase "mock up," and the hyphenated spelling "mock-up" is the older form, which the source lists as the base entry. The modern spelling "mockup" is a later simplification that dropped the hyphen as the compound became more familiar.

Synonyms: prototype, model, sample, template, draft