Mimic

How to spell mimic

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce mimic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does mimic mean?

1. verbTo imitate someone's speech, manner, or actions, often for amusement or to deceive.
2. nounA person or animal skilled at imitating others.

Mimic in a sentence

• verb

  The comedian could mimic the prime minister's voice perfectly.

• noun

  The parrot proved to be a remarkable mimic of human speech.

• verb

  Some birds can mimic the sound of a ringing phone.

• noun

  As a natural mimic, she had the whole office laughing.

Where does mimic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek mimos, the name for an actor or performer who entertained crowds by imitating people, animals, and everyday scenes. From that came the adjective mimikos, meaning 'belonging to a mime or imitator'. Latin took it on as mimicus, and English adopted it in the late 1500s, first as an adjective meaning 'imitative' and soon afterwards as a verb and a noun for one who copies others. The same Greek mimos sits inside the modern words 'mime' and 'pantomime', and it also gave science the term 'mimicry' for creatures that copy the look of others. A handy point for spelling: the bare form ends in a single -ic, but when you add an ending the silent rule kicks in and you write a k, as in mimicked and mimicking, to keep the hard sound.

How the word is built

• mim- (from Greek mimos: imitator, actor)
• -ic (adjective/agent suffix)