mime
/maɪm/ noun, verb
Forms mimes miming mimed
- noun A form of acting without words; pantomime.
- noun A pantomime actor.
- noun A classical theatrical entertainment in the form of farce.
- noun A performer of such a farce.
- noun A person who mimics others in a comical manner.
- noun Any of various papilionid butterflies of the genus Chilasa or Papilio, that mimic other species in appearance.
- noun A unit of imitation in the theory of symbiosism.
- verb To mimic.
- verb (intransitive) To act without words.
- verb To represent an action or object through gesture, without the use of sound. “In this game, you're given a word, which you have to mime to the others in the group.”
Synonyms
mimer mummer pantomimer pantomimist pantomime dumb show mimic
Etymology
Possibly from Middle English mime, from Old English mīma (“a buffoon, jester, mime”), from Latin mimus, from Ancient Greek μῖμος (mîmos, “imitator, actor”), but more likely re-borrowed in modern times from French mime (“mimic actor”), from the same source.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A kind of drama in which real persons and events were generally represented in a ridiculous manner.
- noun An actor in such representations.
- verb To mimic. [Obs.] -- Mim"er, n.
Etymology [L. mimus, Gr. mime. Cf. Mimosa.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “mime”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details