μιμικός

Forms

μῑμῐκός (mīmikós) m (feminine μῑμῐκή, neuter μῑμῐκόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek μῖμος (mîmos, “mime, actor”) + -ικός (-ikós).^[1][2][3] Modern Greek dictionaries class the word as Hellenistic.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Demetrius' treatise On Style, of uncertain date, uses the comparative for jokes that are rather in the manner of the mimes and indecent.^[6][7] LSJ and Bailly also cites Cicero's De oratore and Orator for the word.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

The adjective belonged to the mime, the popular comic sketch of everyday life, and so could mean “buffoonish” or “indecent”.^[2][7][8] An inscription from Gytheion of the 1st century AD has it of doors used for stage performances.^[6]

It is the source of Latin mimicus.^[9][1] Modern Greek μιμικός (mimikós) is a learned word: “of mime”, and as a noun, μιμική (mimikí), the art of expressing thoughts and feelings with gestures and the face.^[4][5][10] It is the source of French mimique, whence Turkish and Russian words for facial expression.^[1]

Timeline

• 1st century BC – Cicero uses the word in his works on oratory.^[6][2][11]
• 1st century AD – An inscription from Gytheion calls doors used for stage shows by this name.^[6]
• Modern Greek – The learned μιμικός (mimikós) means “of mime”, and its feminine names the art of expression by gesture.^[4][5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or in the manner of mimes (mîmos); hence buffoonish, indecent.^[6][2][7]
2. Intended for stage performances.^[6][1]

Related words

• μῖμος (mîmos)
• Latin mimicus
• Modern Greek μιμικός (mimikós)
• French mimique

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
5. ^ a b c Τεγόπουλος, Γ.; Φυτράκης, Ε. (1997), Μείζον Ελληνικό Λεξικό, Athens: Αρμονία
6. ^ a b c d e f g Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
8. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli
9. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
10. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
11. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge