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Meme

2 stages from Greek to English.

Today it means an idea or image copied and spread online; a unit of cultural transmission

Where does the word "meme" come from? It comes from Greek mímēma, adopted directly into English (1976).

1
Stage 1 of 2
mímēma
Greek · ancient
"imitation"
'something imitated'; Plato's Republic, Book 10, dismisses art as a mimēma, an imitation of an imitation
2
Stage 2 of 2
meme
English · 1976
"unit of cultural imitation"
Richard Dawkins clipped mimeme to rhyme with 'gene' in The Selfish Gene (1976), for a unit of culture passed on by imitation; 'internet meme' followed in the 1990s-2000s
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Read the full story

Meme’s story begins in Greek: mímēma meant “imitation.” 'something imitated'; Plato's Republic, Book 10, dismisses art as a mimēma, an imitation of an imitation. It reached English by 1976 as meme. Richard Dawkins clipped mimeme to rhyme with 'gene' in The Selfish Gene (1976), for a unit of culture passed on by imitation; 'internet meme' followed in the 1990s-2000s. Today, meme means an idea or image copied and spread online; a unit of cultural transmission.