Etymologically
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mima

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 06:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈmiː.ma][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈmiː.ma][1]

Forms

mīma f (genitive mīmae); first declension[1] Cledonius gives the dative and ablative plural mīmābus.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin mīmus (“mime, mime actor”), as its feminine.[3][2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[4] who uses it in the Philippics.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is an actress who performs in mimes.[3][2] Cicero uses it in the second and thirteenth Philippics, once in apposition, mīma uxor, and Horace in the Satires.[2] It also occurs in an inscription.[2] According to the grammarian Cledonius the dative and ablative plural was mīmābus.[2] The TLL treats it under mīmus.[5]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero in the Philippics.[2][4]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace in the Satires.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An actress in mimes.[3][2][1]

Word family

  • archimima
  • mīmula

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften