different between mimic vs imitating

English

Alternative forms

• mimick

Etymology

From Latin m?micus, from Ancient Greek ??????? (m?mikós, “belonging to mimes”), from ????? (mîmos, “imitator, actor”); see mime.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?m.?k/
• Rhymes: -?m?k

Verb

mimic (third-person singular simple present mimics, present participle mimicking, simple past and past participle mimicked)

1. To imitate, especially in order to ridicule.
2. (biology) To take on the appearance of another, for protection or camouflage.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:imitate

Translations

Noun

mimic (plural mimics)

1. A person who practices mimicry, or mime.
2. An imitation.

Translations

Adjective

mimic (not comparable)

1. Pertaining to mimicry; imitative.
   • 1800, William Wordsworth, There was a Boy

     And there, with fingers interwoven, both hands
     Pressed closely palm to palm and to his mouth
     Uplifted, he, as through an instrument,
     Blew mimic hootings to the silent owls,
     That they might answer him.

2. Mock, pretended.
3. (mineralogy) Imitative; characterized by resemblance to other forms; applied to crystals which by twinning resemble simple forms of a higher grade of symmetry.

Related terms

• mime
• mimicable
• mimicry

Further reading

• mimic in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• mimic in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Romanian

Etymology

From French mimique

Adjective

mimic m or n (feminine singular mimic?, masculine plural mimici, feminine and neuter plural mimice)

1. mimic

Declension

English

Verb

imitating

1. present participle of imitate

Noun

imitating (plural imitatings)

1. An instance of imitation.
   • 1923, Fred Lewis Pattee, Development of the American Short Story: An Historical Survey

     According to Stoddard, a little group at one time during this period headed by Taylor delighted to meet on certain ambrosial nights to dissipate in poetic composition, in deliberate burlesquings and parodyings and imitatings of the various poets […]