Etymologically
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simulo

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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

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