μιμέομαι

Forms

μῑμέομαι (mīméomai) ^[1]

Etymology

It is most probably a denominative verb from Ancient Greek μῖμος (mîmos, “mime, actor”), although the noun is attested only rarely and later than the verb.^[2][1][3][4] Beekes finds no etymology for the noun: its technical meaning makes a loan likely, and he thinks a Pre-Greek origin quite possible.^[2] The older comparison with Sanskrit माया (māyā́, “magic power”) he calls outdated.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest use is in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, where it is used of imitating voices.^[5][3][6] The parodic Battle of Frogs and Mice speaks of imitating the deeds of the Giants.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In the archaic and classical period it meant both “to follow the example of” a person or institution (Theognis, Herodotus, Thucydides) and “to mimic, represent, portray” voices, sounds and gestures (Pindar, Aeschylus).^[3][5] With Plato and Aristotle it became the verb for artistic representation, of poets, dramatists and painters; its nouns μίμησις (mímēsis) and μίμημα (mímēma) are “imitation” and “representation”.^[3][2] Herodotus used the perfect participle of columns made in the likeness of palm trees.^[3][5]

In the New Testament and the early Christian writers it is used only of conduct: to follow the example of the apostles or of God.^[4]

Timeline

• 6th century BC – The Homeric Hymn to Apollo uses it of imitating voices.^[5][6]
• 6th century BC – Theognis uses it for imitating a person.^[5][3]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it of imitating a wail.^[5]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it of poetic and dramatic representation.^[3][5]
• 1st century AD – The Second Letter to the Thessalonians tells believers to imitate the apostles.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To imitate, follow the example of, emulate a person, behaviour or institution.^[3][5][4]
2. To mimic, simulate, represent, portray persons, voices, sounds or appearances; of poets and artists, to represent.^[3][5]
3. (perfect participle) Made in imitation of something, as columns imitating palm trees.^[3][5]
4. (future, aorist and perfect in a passive sense) To be reproduced by imitation.^[3]

Word family

• μίμησις (mī́mēsis)
• μίμημα (mímēma)
• μιμητής (mimētḗs)
• μιμητικός (mimētikós)

Related words

• μῖμος (mîmos)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ a b c d Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux