I. ˈmimik, -mēk noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin mimicus, adjective
1.
a. : a performer in mimes : mime 1
b. : one that mimics (as for amusement)
2. : a cheap or servile imitator
3. : a feeble or poor imitation
4. : a usually edible and harmless animal that escapes predation by being mistaken by potential predators for a distasteful or venomous animal
II. adjective
Etymology: Latin mimicus, from Greek mimikos, from mimos mime + -ikos -ic
1.
a. : of, acting as, or resembling a mime
b. : having an aptitude for or practicing mimicry
2. : befitting or having the characteristics of a mime or mimicry
explained them with great detail and mimic illustration — Ernest Beaglehole
3. : constituting a copy or imitation of something, often for amusement
the mimic warfare of the opera stage — Archibald Alison
throwing mimic spears formed of fern stalks — Sacheverell Sitwell
4. : mimetic 5
III. verb
( mimicked ; mimicked ; mimicking ; mimics )
Etymology: mimic (I)
transitive verb
1. : to copy or imitate very closely especially in external characteristics (as voice, gesture, or manner)
mimics their manners with dexterity — Francis Fergusson
learned Spanish by … mimicking the speech of the natives — M.B.Smith
the Communist and Socialist politicians mimic Soviet policy — Western Political Quarterly
2. : to ridicule by imitation : make sport of by copying or imitating
jumped about the platform, mimicked the tight, unseeing capitalists of his … imagination — Adria Langley
3. : to imitate by representation : represent by imitation : simulate
how closely he could mimic marble on paper — Charles Reade
yellow cretonnes mimicked the sunshine that never shone through the … windows — Aldous Huxley
4. : to exhibit biological mimicry with : resemble by biological mimicry
intransitive verb
: to perform the action of a mimic
chanting and gesturing, painting and mimicking and shedding blood — Emma Hawkridge
Synonyms: see copy