mimicry

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mim·ic·ry

(mĭm′ĭ-krē)

n. pl. mim·ic·ries

a. The act, practice, or art of mimicking.

b. An instance of mimicking.

2. Biology The resemblance of one organism to another or to an object in its surroundings for concealment and protection from predators.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

mimicry

(ˈmɪmɪkrɪ)

n, pl -ries

1. the act or art of copying or imitating closely; mimicking

2. (Zoology) the resemblance shown by one animal species, esp an insect, to another, which protects it from predators

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mim•ic•ry

(ˈmɪm ɪk ri)

n., pl. -ries.

1. the act, practice, or art of mimicking.

2. the close resemblance of an organism to a different organism, such that it benefits from the mistaken identity, as in seeming to be unpalatable.

3. an instance or result of mimicking.

mim·ic·ry

(mĭm′ĭ-krē)

The resemblance of one organism to another or to an object in its surroundings for concealment or protection from predators.

Did You Know? For many organisms, the chances of survival are improved because they have evolved to imitate the looks, sounds, actions, or other characteristics of different organisms. Mimicry, the name for this imitation of one species by another, is especially common among insects. In one classic example, the viceroy butterfly is protected from being eaten by birds because its wing markings resemble the striking orange and black markings of the monarch butterfly. The monarch is a dangerous dinner for birds; it contains chemicals that make them so sick that they vomit and their hearts beat dangerously fast. The viceroy, on the other hand, makes a tasty meal, but because it looks like the monarch, birds tend to avoid it. Mimicry also can help a predator catch prey: some ant-eating spiders, for example, look like the ants they eat. Thus disguised, they have an easy time catching unsuspecting ants.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

mimicry

the ability of some creatures to imitate others, either by sound or appearance, or to merge with their environment for protective purposes. See also performing. — mimic, mimical, adj.

mimicry

The adoption by one species of the structure or behavior of another to gain protection.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	mimicry - the act of mimicking; imitative behavior apery personation, impersonation - imitating the mannerisms of another person parody, mockery, takeoff - humorous or satirical mimicry
	2.	mimicry - the resemblance of an animal species to another species or to natural objects; provides concealment and protection from predators imitation - copying (or trying to copy) the actions of someone else

mimicry

noun imitation, impression, impersonation, copying, imitating, mimicking, parody, caricature, mockery, burlesque, apery One of his strengths was his skill at mimicry.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

mimicry

noun

The act, practice, or art of copying the manner or expression of another:

aping, imitation.

Translations

تَقْليد، مُحاكاه

mimikry

efterligningparodi

Mimikry Nachahmen

imitation mimétisme mimique

mimikri

eftirhermur, skopstæling

imitazione mimetismo

etteraping parodiering

мимика мимикрия

mimikry

taklitçilik

摹拟

mimicry

[ˈmɪmɪkrɪ] N → mímica f (Bio) → mimetismo m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

mimicry

[ˈmɪmɪkri] n

[person] → imitation f

(ZOOLOGY) (by animal, plant) → mimétisme m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

mimicry

n → Nachahmung f; (Biol) → Mimikry f; protective mimicry → Schutzfärbung f, → Tarnfarbe f; his talent for mimicry → sein Talent dafür, andere nachzuahmen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

mimicry

[ˈmɪmɪkrɪ] n → imitazioni fpl (Zool) → mimetismo

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

mimic

(ˈmimik) – past tense, past participle ˈmimicked – verb

to imitate (someone or something), especially with the intention of making him or it appear ridiculous or funny. The comedian mimicked the Prime Minister's way of speaking.

noun

a person who mimics. Children are often good mimics.

ˈmimicry noun

References in classic literature ?

A third, with a gift for singing and mimicry, who had achieved success at the smoking concerts of the Medical School by his imitation of notorious comedians, had abandoned the hospital for the chorus of a musical comedy.

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From the date of their conversation after the party at Princess Tverskaya's he had never spoken again to Anna of his suspicions and his jealousies, and that habitual tone of his bantering mimicry was the most convenient tone possible for his present attitude to his wife.

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One shouted in taunting mimicry: "Oh, mother, come quick an' look at th' sojers!"

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Ups and downs, generosity, dark fates, the most delicate goodness, have nowhere been more prominent than in the private existence of those devoted to the public mimicry of men and women.

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Halting beneath this outer gate, the youth winded the horn which hung at his side in mimicry of the custom of the times.

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We go cautiously for a lifetime, and then, just for an instant, we forget, and--" he ground his teeth in mimicry of the crunching of great jaws in flesh.

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The wearing of the Arab burnoose which Tarzan had placed upon his person had aroused in the mind of the anthropoid a desire for similar mimicry of the Tarmangani.

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His seeming rescue by a votaress of the high priestess of the sun had been but a part of the mimicry of their heathen ceremony--the sun looking down upon him through the opening at the top of the court had claimed him as his own, and the priestess had come from the inner temple to save him from the polluting hands of worldlings--to save him as a human offering to their flaming deity.

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The young apes refought the battle in mimicry of their mighty elders.

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All savages appear to possess, to an uncommon degree, this power of mimicry. I was told, almost in the same words, of the same ludicrous habit among the Caffres; the Australians, likewise, have long been notorious for being able to imitate and describe the gait of any man, so that he may be recognized.

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Sharp; how dissolute and poor he was; how good- natured and amusing; how he was always hunted by bailiffs and duns; how, to the landlady's horror, though she never could abide the woman, he did not marry his wife till a short time before her death; and what a queer little wild vixen his daughter was; how she kept them all laughing with her fun and mimicry; how she used to fetch the gin from the public-house, and was known in all the studios in the quarter--in brief, Mrs.

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Her talent for every species of drollery, grimace, and mimicry,--for dancing, tumbling, climbing, singing, whistling, imitating every sound that hit her fancy,--seemed inexhaustible.