mimesis

[ mi-mee-sis, mahy- ]

noun

1. Rhetoric. imitation or reproduction of the supposed words of someone else, as in order to represent their character.
2. (in literature, film, art, etc.)
   1. imitation of the real world, as by re-creating instances of human action and events or portraying objects found in nature:

      This movie is a mimesis of historical events.

   2. the showing of a story, as by dialogue and enactment of events. Compare diegesis ( def 1 ).
3. Biology. imitation ( def 5 ).
4. Zoology. mimicry ( def 2 ).
5. Also . Pathology.
   1. the simulation, due to hysteria, of the symptoms of a disease.
   2. the simulation of the symptoms of one disease by another.

mimesis

/ mɪˈmiːsɪs /

noun

1. art literature the imitative representation of nature or human behaviour
2. 1. any disease that shows symptoms of another disease
   2. a condition in a hysterical patient that mimics an organic disease
3. biology another name for mimicry
4. rhetoric representation of another person's alleged words in a speech

Word History and Origins

Origin of mimesis¹

First recorded in 1540–50; from Greek mī́mēsis “imitation,” equivalent to mīmē- (variant stem of mīmeîsthai “to copy”) + -sis noun suffix ( -sis )

Word History and Origins

Origin of mimesis¹

C16: from Greek, from mimeisthai to imitate

Example Sentences

Issue 2 is also an exercise in mimesis.

From Los Angeles Times

The monotonous, methodical climbs in Death Stranding resemble their real-life counterparts in absolute mimesis, at least atmospherically.

From The Verge

Watson concludes that “this is mimesis at its finest”; the semicolons hold the prose “in suspension,” and the reader in suspense, waiting, along with King, for justice.

From The New Yorker

On the most basic level there is clearly a degree of mimesis at work.

From The Guardian

I still wonder if this is a kind of clever mimesis.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• clone
• impersonation
• impression
• mimicry
• parody
• reflection
• replica
• reproduction