meme English · revision 15019

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=coinage|attested=1976}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /miːm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was coined in 1976 by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) by shortening mimeme, from [[grc|μίμημα|tr=mímēma|t=that which is imitated]], from [[m|grc|μιμέομαι|tr=miméomai|t=to imitate]] (see [[mime]]), to make it sound like [[gene]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)^(MWU 2024) Dawkins wanted a monosyllable for a unit of cultural transmission or imitation, and hoped his classicist friends would forgive him for cutting mimeme to meme.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An element of a culture passed on by non-genetic means, especially imitation: 1976.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Collins records the later sense of an image or video widely spread on the internet, often altered for humorous effect.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1976 – meme (Dawkins).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An idea, behaviour or style passed on within a culture, especially by imitation.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ # An image, video or text spread widely on the internet, often changed by users for humorous effect.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mimesis]]

+ * [[gene]]

+ * [[mime]]

+ * [[mimic]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}