View synonyms for mimesis

mimesis

[ mi-mee-sis, mahy- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Rhetoric. imitation or reproduction of the supposed words of someone else, as in order to represent their character.
(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 ).
Biology. imitation ( def 5 ).
Zoology. mimicry ( def 2 ).
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

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

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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 )