simulacrum
an image or representation of something
TRANSLATION
(Ab)Bild, Scheinbild, Trugbild, leerer Schein
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"Adelaide has been recently flooded with reports of a miraculous event taking place in the small southern township of Yankalilla. The faithful have been witness to a simulacrum of the Madonna and Child appearing on the rear wall of the small local Anglican Christ Church, an appearance which many claim is a great miracle."
(Laurie Eddie in the Journal of Australian Sceptics - Vol 17, No 1, November 1999)
(Laurie Eddie in the Journal of Australian Sceptics - Vol 17, No 1, November 1999)
Did you
know?
WORDWISE: From Middle English, from Latin simulare - similar. Date: 15th century.
In the original sense of the word, a simulacrum is simply a representation of something, such as an oil painting, a marble statue, a wax figure, or a plastic figurine. Because a simulacrum, no matter how skillfully done, is not the real thing, the usual sense of the word today emphasizes the notion of superficiality or insubstantiality.
A simulacrum is usually a pale or even very inadequate imitation of the original. A faded, once-grand hotel may be a pitiful simulacrum of its former self.
A gossipy biography will often turn out to present an unconvincing simulacrum of a complex person's life.
In the original sense of the word, a simulacrum is simply a representation of something, such as an oil painting, a marble statue, a wax figure, or a plastic figurine. Because a simulacrum, no matter how skillfully done, is not the real thing, the usual sense of the word today emphasizes the notion of superficiality or insubstantiality.
A simulacrum is usually a pale or even very inadequate imitation of the original. A faded, once-grand hotel may be a pitiful simulacrum of its former self.
A gossipy biography will often turn out to present an unconvincing simulacrum of a complex person's life.
