/mi mee"sis, muy-/ , n.
1. Rhet. imitation or reproduction of the supposed words of another, as in order to represent his or her character.
2. Biol. imitation.
3. Zool. mimicry.
4. Also, mimosis . Pathol.
a. the simulation, due to hysteria, of the symptoms of a disease.
b. the simulation of the symptoms of one disease by another.
[ 1640-50; mímesis imitation, equiv. to mime- (var. s. of mimeîsthai to copy) + -sis -SIS ]