mimesis

American  

[mi-mee-sis, mahy-] / mɪˈmi sɪs, maɪ- /

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.

3. Biology. imitation.

4. Zoology. mimicry.

5. Pathology. Also

   1. the simulation, due to hysteria, of the symptoms of a disease.

   2. the simulation of the symptoms of one disease by another.

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mimesis British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of mimesis

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

Explanation

Mimesis is the imitation of life in art and literature. You know your painting exhibits mimesis when the viewers try to pick the flowers from the canvas. You’ve probably heard that life imitates art. Well, when art imitates life, it’s mimesis. Originally a Greek word, meaning “imitation,” mimesis basically means a copycat, or a mimic. Mimesis might be found in a play with a realistic setting or in a particularly life-like statue. The word is also used in biology for a disease that shows characteristics of another illness. You can remember the definition of mimesis by thinking about a mime imitating an action.

Example Sentences

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

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 27, 2018

In victory a kind of mimesis has begun.

From The Guardian • Sep. 19, 2018

Being an artist who’s interested in mimesis and the new stuff, what are the tools available to the artist now?

From Slate • Sep. 20, 2016

His objective, it seemed, was to abandon mimesis, the depiction of people and things.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 11, 2016

The origin of art is not mimesis, but mimesis springs up out of art, out of emotional expression, and constantly and closely neigh47bours it.

From Ancient Art and Ritual by Harrison, Jane Ellen

Related Words

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