Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A form of ancient Greek and Roman theatrical entertainment in which familiar characters and situations were farcically portrayed on stage, often with coarse dialogue and ludicrous actions.
- noun A performance of or dialogue for such an entertainment.
- noun A performer in a mime.
- noun A modern performer who specializes in comic mimicry.
- noun The art of portraying characters and acting out situations or a narrative by gestures and body movement without the use of words; pantomime.
- noun A performance of pantomime.
- noun An actor or actress skilled in pantomime.
- intransitive verb To ridicule by imitation; mimic.
- intransitive verb To act out with gestures and body movement.
- intransitive verb To act as a mimic.
- intransitive verb To portray characters and situations by gesture and body movement.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To mimic, or play the buffoon; act in a mime.
- noun An imitator; one skilled in mimicry; a mimic; specifically, a mimic actor; a performer in the ancient farces or burlesques called
mimes . - noun A dramatic entertainment among the ancient Greeks of Sicily and southern Italy and the Romans, consisting generally of farcical mimicry of real events and persons.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb obsolete To mimic.
- noun A kind of drama in which real persons and events were generally represented in a ridiculous manner; an ancient Greek or Roman form of farce.
- noun An actor in such representations.
- noun The art of representing actions, events, situations, or stories solely by gestures and body movements, without speaking; pantomime{3}.
- noun An actor who performs or specializes in mime{3}; an actor who communicates entirely by gesture and facial expression; a pantomime{2}; a pantomimist; a mimer.
- noun A mimic.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A form of
acting withoutwords ;pantomime - noun A pantomime
actor - noun A
classical theatrical entertainment in the form offarce - noun A
performer of such a farce - noun A person who
mimics others in acomical manner - verb To
mimic . - verb To act without words.
- verb To represent an action or object through gesture, without the use sound.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb act out without words but with gestures and bodily movements only
- noun a performance using gestures and body movements without words
- verb imitate (a person or manner), especially for satirical effect
- noun an actor who communicates entirely by gesture and facial expression
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Hoodathunk (sponsored by the Church of Holy Beer) says: actually, I meant to say ‘A mime is a terrible thing to face’.
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Hoodathunk (sponsored by the Church of Holy Beer) says: actually, I meant to say ‘A mime is a terrible thing to face’.
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I support any mime related violence so long as the mime is being injured.
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For a while, Crazy Eddie sponsored the movies and one year, the announcer did a commercial in mime, wearing a Godzilla mask and claws.
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In addition to his acting career, Jean is a professional choreographer and dancer, with special interests in mime, movement, comedia del arte, and ballet.
Performance Program, Boston University, Obi, Romantic Circles Praxis Series 2002
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I raised the subject of air-cricket – cricket you play in mime form, often using a bat-like object, and perhaps making a "clonk" noise as you dispatch an imaginary ball – on the Guardian's over-by-over commentary recently and was swamped with stories: the man who performed a lofted drive with his rolled degree certificate at his graduation and sent it sailing into the audience; the Russian wedding almost ruined by a display of aggressive umbrella air-batsmanship; the hospital-ward practice of playing air-cricket with a drip stand.
Why a Sachin Tendulkar is my signature air-cricket shot Barney Ronay 2010
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I can’t wait for the day the Pals start showing up at the Knesset in mime gear. anon says:
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A mime is a terrible thing to waste, both in its theoretical and theatrical forms.
Thoughts on the Mime : Edward Champion’s Reluctant Habits 2009
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The priest reads the story as the participants act the proceedings out in mime.
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The mime was a farce of popular morals, particularly of the lower classes; it was a portrayal of the dregs of society in their comic aspects.
Initiation into Literature ��mile Faguet 1881
john commented on the word mime
"To mime the wind, one becomes a tempest. To mime a fish, you throw yourself into the sea."
- Marcel Marceau
September 23, 2007
jmjarmstrong commented on the word mime
JM knows a mime who is determined to remain silent, to say the least.
June 19, 2011