English → Latin
“imitation” in Latin
imitātiōimitationaemulātiōThe endeavor to be equal to or match another in something; emulation, ambition; rivalry, competition.; Jealousy, envy, mcacozēliaA bad, faulty, awkward imitation.aemulorto endeavour to equal or excel someone, rival, vie with; emulate; copy; to equal someone by emulating; to be envious or imitorto represent, express, portray; to imitate, act like, copy after, seek to resemble, counterfeit
The English word imitation itself goes back to Latin imitor, through imitatio.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
imitation
As an action or state, imitatio (general term): aemulatio (an emulating; Vid: To IMITATE, on imitari and aemulare): cacozelia (an aping, Quint.). Excessive imitation, nimia imitatio: servile imitation, *imitatio servilis (opposed to liberalis; i. e., a rational one); also by circumlocution with imitari; e.g., ad imitationem alicujus se conferre, or ad aliquem imitandum se conferre: To propose anything for imitation, aliquid ad imitandum proponere: by imitation, imitatione: imitando.
Thing imitated, res imitatione or imitando expressa; res imitando efficta (☞ Imitamentum does not belong to classical prose). To be an imitator of anything, imitatione ex aliqua re expressum esse.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for imitation?
- The usual Latin words for “imitation” are imitātiō, aemulātiō, cacozēlia; also aemulor, imitor. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.