Where does “meme” come from?

Meme comes from Ancient Greek μίμημα, meaning something imitated or copied.

meme (English): Any unit of cultural information, such as a...

Definitions

  1. Any unit of cultural information, such as a...

Ancestry of “meme”, step by step

meme traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via French mémé

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchméméGrandma, granny, nana
2Frenchmamiegranny, grandma
3Romanianmamămother
4Latinmammaa breast; an udder; a pap; a teat, a dug
5Latinferōto bear; to carry
6Proto-Italicferōcarry, bear
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰéretito be carrying
8Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰēr-shiny, light brown

via English mimeme

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmimemeA unit of mimetic information
2Ancient Greekμῖμοςmime, actor; imitation, mimicking; mime

Words derived from “meme”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰēr- →