model

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
model/ˈmɒdl/

▶noun

• 1 a three-dimensional representation of a person or thing, typically on a smaller scale.

  ■ (in sculpture) a figure in clay or wax, to be reproduced in a more durable material.

• 2 a thing used as an example to follow.

  ■ a person or thing that is an excellent example of a quality: she was a model of self-control.

• 3 a person employed to display clothes by wearing them.

  ■ a person employed to pose for an artist, sculptor, etc.

• 4 a particular version of a product.

  ■ a garment or a copy of a garment by a well-known designer.

• 5 a simplified description, especially a mathematical one, of a system or process, to assist calculations and predictions.

▶verb (models, modelling, modelled; US models, modeling, modeled)

• 1 fashion or shape (a figure) in clay, wax, etc.

  ■ Art cause to appear three-dimensional.

• 2 (model something on/after) use as an example to follow or imitate.

• 3 display (clothes) by wearing them.

  ■ work as a model.

• 4 devise a mathematical model of.

– derivatives
modeller noun,
modelling noun.

– origin C16: from Fr. modelle, from Ital. modello, alt. of L. modulus (see modulus).