simulacrum

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [sɪ.mʊˈɫaː.krũː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [si.muˈlaː.krum]^[1]

Forms

simulācrum n (genitive simulācrī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from simulō “to make like” with the instrument suffix -crum, a dissimilated form of ⟨*simulāclom⟩.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of a likeness.^[2] Köbler's first source is Cicero; he dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant a likeness, as in Plautus, and in Cicero a picture or image, as nōn animōrum simulācra sed corporum “likenesses not of minds but of bodies”, and especially a statue of a god.^[2][5] The Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it of an image in the mind or a dream, and Lucretius of the films that bodies give off.^[2][6] In Cicero it meant a mere show, as simulācrum pugnae “a sham fight”, and a pale copy of a quality.^[2] Döderlein explains that imāgō resembles its original closely, while simulācrum is a substitute for it.^[7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant an idol, a likeness, an image.^[8] British Medieval Latin had per simulācrum “in the likeness of”, as of the Holy Spirit as a dove.^[9] It was borrowed into French simulacre and Spanish simulacro, and gave English simulacrum in the 1590s.^[1][3]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a likeness.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a statue and of a sham fight.^[2][4]
• 1590s – English simulacrum is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A likeness.^[2]
2. An image; a statue, especially of a god.^[2]
3. An image in the mind; a phantom.^[2]
4. A sham, simulācrum pugnae, a mock fight.^[2]
5. A pale copy.^[2]
6. (Ecclesiastical Latin) An idol.^[8]

Related words

• simulō
• imāgō
• English simulacrum

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes it from imāgō.^[7]

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 k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press