simulo

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈsɪ.mʊ.ɫoː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈsiː.mu.lo]^[1]

Forms

simulō (present infinitive simulāre, perfect active simulāvī, supine simulātum); first conjugation^[1] It is also spelled similō.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from similis “like”, with ⟨u⟩ for ⟨i⟩ before a dark /l/.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of pretending that something is so.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to pretend that something is the case, as in Plautus, and in Cicero to feign a state of body or mind.^[2] In Quintilian it was a rhetorical term, in Ovid it meant to pretend to be someone, and in Virgil to counterfeit, imitate and represent in art.^[2] In Lucretius it meant to make similar, and Cicero has Minerva simulāta Mentorī “Minerva in the shape of Mentor”.^[2][5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to copy, imitate, represent, feign.^[6] It was borrowed into Italian simulare and Spanish simular, and its participle simulātus is behind English simulate, first recorded in the 1620s.^[1][7]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of pretending.^[2][4]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of making similar.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of feigning.^[2][4]
• 1620s – English simulate is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To pretend.^[2]
2. To feign (a feeling or state).^[2]
3. To act the part of.^[2]
4. To counterfeit; to imitate; to represent.^[2]
5. To make similar.^[2]

Word family

• assimulō
• cōnsimilō
• dissimulō
• īnsimulō
• simulācrum
• simulāmen
• simulāmentum
• simulatilis
• simulātiō
• simulātor
• simulātrix
• simulāns

Related words

• similis
• English simulate

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 m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com