Where does “imitation” come from?

Imitation comes from Old French imitacion, from Latin imitatio, a noun formation using the Latin suffix -tio derived from Proto-Indo-European -ti-, itself from Proto-Indo-European -tis.

imitation (English): The act of imitating; A copy or simulation;...

Definitions

  1. The act of imitating; A copy or simulation;...

Ancestry of “imitation”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishimitacioun—
2Old Frenchimitacion—
3Latinimitatioimitation
4LatinimitorI represent, express, portray; I imitate, act...
5Proto-Italicimācopy
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eym-to copy, imitate

Words derived from “imitation”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eym- →Every word from Proto-Italic imā →Every word from Latin imitor →