Dictionary

meme en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /miːm/
• (US) audio
• mēm

Etymology

Clipping of mimeme, equivalent to mime + -eme. Coined by British biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976 in his book The Selfish Gene. Shortened (after gene) from mimeme (compare English phoneme), anglicized as if from a noun derived from Ancient Greek μῑμέομαι (mīméomai) with the deverbal suffix -μα (-ma), from μῖμος (mîmos, “imitation, copy”). The concept was later applied to the Internet by Mike Godwin.

Meanings

1. (qualifier:originally) Any unit of (originally cultural) information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another in a comparable way to the transmission of genes.
   • The original Hobson and Jobson stock comic characters have died out as a meme, as has the application of their names to the Muharram in India. 2014, James Lambert, “A Much Tortured Expression: A New Look At ‘Hobson-Jobson’”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 27, number 1, page 67:
   • Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. 1976, Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene:
   • For most of the population, the media system is, I think, a different one. It's not just the case that it tries to entertain them. It tries to entertain them through memes, which will intensify attitudes that support the interests of elites. 1988, Noam Chomsky, Massey Lectures (Necessary Illusions):
   • Related memes tend to form mutually supporting meme-complexes such as religions, political ideologies, scientific theories, and New Age dogmas. 2002, Rita Carter, Exploring Consciousness, page 242:
2. (Internet) Media, usually humorous, which is copied and circulated online with slight adaptations, such as basic pictures, video templates, etc.
   • He posted a meme that went viral within a few hours on social media.
   • I do...but my journal is a mess. It's mostly filled with memes and my bitching about a house I am building. 2005, darklily, “OT: Livejournal”, in soc.sexuality.general (Usenet):
   • Social networks produce inside jokes at a relentless pace. The best, worst, stupidest and funniest of those jokes become memes, and either you get them or you don’t. 2017 December 15, Jonah Engel Bromwich, “Life on the Meme Council: Meet the Internet’s Gatekeepers”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • Not everyone saw the comparison to Nazis as a "meme" - most people on the Net, as elsewhere, had never heard of "memes" or "memetics." But now that we're living in an increasingly information-aware culture, it's time for that to change. 1994 January 10, Mike Godwin, “Meme, Counter-meme”, in Wired:
   • He said that NFT sales had helped establish memes as a sophisticated art form and “serious pieces of culture.” 2021 April 29, Marie Fazio, quoting Ben Lashes, “The World Knows Her as ‘Disaster Girl.’ She Just Made $500,000 Off the Meme.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • Haha, memes are funny! Until they totally become racist. Pepe the Frog lived a very normal meme life right up until online trolls turned him into a green thing of hate in 2016. It got so bad his creator symbolically killed him off in 2017. 2019 December 31, AJ Willingham, “All the trends we loved and hated in the 2010s”, in CNN:
   • He stuck memes on the wall to campaign for the position of President.
   • This latest Internet meme is shocking. But most shocking of all is the person who started the meme isn't a person at all, but a cat who seems to have no regard for people's safety. 2012 March 28, Trey Parker, “Faith Hilling”, in South Park, season 16, episode 3, spoken by Reporter:
   • The idea was to append Keyboard Cat to the end of a blooper video to "play" that person offstage after a mistake or gaffe, like getting the hook in the days of vaudeville. The meme became popular, Ashton Kutcher tweeted about it to more than 1 million followers, and more than 4,000 such videos have now been made. 2012, Greg Jarboe, You Tube and Video Marketing, 2nd edition:
   • Harlem Shake meme: the new Gangnam Style? [headline] 2013 February 8, Tim Jonze, “Harlem Shake meme: the new Gangnam Style?”, in The Guardian:
3. (Internet) A specific instance of a meme, such as an image macro or a video, often with humorous superimposed text.
   • I'm always posting memes on the groupchat.
   • This meme generator lets you make your own memes by adding a caption to existing images, or by uploading your own image.
4. (Internet, derogatory) Something which is deceptive; a trick, a ruse.
   • I can't believe I fell for the bulking meme.
   • It's a meme degree, you know. Good luck getting a job from that.
5. (Internet, derogatory) Something not to be taken seriously; a joke.
   • Jogging is a meme.
   • It's a meme degree, you know. Good luck getting a job from that.
6. (Internet) A work produced and shared in response to a prompt or suggestion within an online group.
   • kink meme
   • anon meme

Forms

Deriveds

meme magic · memetics · memic · memery · forced meme · memeplex · memeless · memester · meme stock · memeification · memescape · memosphere · memetic algorithm · memome · animation meme · maymay · memedom · memeable · meme pool · meming · anon meme · memelord · meme coin · dank meme · meme-speak · memocide · memology · memelike · memer · ememe · memetic engineering · memeworthy · memey · memehood · countermeme · memeify · kink meme · Facebook meme · memeverse · teme · memetic · antimeme

Descendants

мем · meme · мим · meemi · memă · meme · mim · meme · מֶם · мем · Meme · Mem · мем · مِيم · meme · meem · meme · ミーム · mem · meme · मीम · מים · meme · mem · meme · mém · memeo · meme · mème · mem · mem · 밈 · میم · mem

Relateds

replicator · mimesis · forward · chain letter

Synonyms

culturgen

Translations (102)

mk мем (media copied and circulated online) · mi atakata (media copied and circulated online) · cmn 模因 (unit of cultural information) · sh mim (media copied and circulated online) · sv meme (media copied and circulated online) · ja ミーム (unit of cultural information) · de Mem (unit of cultural information) · io memo (media copied and circulated online) · sh ме̑м (unit of cultural information) · he מימ (media copied and circulated online) · it meme (media copied and circulated online) · ar مِيم (media copied and circulated online) · ga méim (media copied and circulated online) · io memo (unit of cultural information) · pl mem (unit of cultural information) · gl meme (unit of cultural information) · et meem (unit of cultural information) · cy meim (media copied and circulated online) · es meme (unit of cultural information) · eo memeo (media copied and circulated online) · hi मीम (unit of cultural information) · bg мем (media copied and circulated online) · no mem (unit of cultural information) · he מֵם (unit of cultural information) · fa-ira میم (media copied and circulated online) · eo memeo (unit of cultural information) · pt meme (media copied and circulated online) · la mīmēma (unit of cultural information) · sk mém (media copied and circulated online) · ru мем (unit of cultural information) · th มีม (media copied and circulated online) · cmn 米姆 (unit of cultural information) · is jarm (media copied and circulated online) · fr mème (media copied and circulated online) · ru мем (media copied and circulated online) · sk memečko (media copied and circulated online) · cs mem (unit of cultural information) · tr mem (unit of cultural information) · id meme (unit of cultural information) · ro memă (media copied and circulated online) · mk мем (unit of cultural information) · el μιμίδιο (unit of cultural information) · nl meme (media copied and circulated online) · nl meem (unit of cultural information) · br mim (unit of cultural information) · yi מעמע (unit of cultural information) · gl meme (media copied and circulated online) · hi मीम (media copied and circulated online) · ca mem (media copied and circulated online) · bg мем (unit of cultural information) · la mīmēma (media copied and circulated online) · pt meme (unit of cultural information) · cmn 梗 (unit of cultural information) · fi meemi (media copied and circulated online) · uk мем (unit of cultural information) · cmn 迷因 (media copied and circulated online) · th มีม (unit of cultural information) · cmn 迷迷 (unit of cultural information) · fi meemi (unit of cultural information) · de Meme (media copied and circulated online) · sh мим (media copied and circulated online) · tr meme (media copied and circulated online) · kw mim (media copied and circulated online) · cmn 彌 /弥 (media copied and circulated online) · ga gné (unit of cultural information) · et meem (media copied and circulated online) · hu mém (unit of cultural information) · yi מים (media copied and circulated online) · ar م (media copied and circulated online) · gd mìm (media copied and circulated online) · br mim (media copied and circulated online) · ro memă (unit of cultural information) · ca mem (unit of cultural information) · he מם (media copied and circulated online) · ar مِيم (unit of cultural information) · sv mem (unit of cultural information) · es meme (media copied and circulated online) · ja ミーム (media copied and circulated online) · ko 밈 (media copied and circulated online) · be мем (unit of cultural information) · nl meme (unit of cultural information) · sh mȇm (unit of cultural information) · pl mem (media copied and circulated online) · cmn 梗 (media copied and circulated online) · hu mém (media copied and circulated online) · cmn 模因 (media copied and circulated online) · ar ميمي (media copied and circulated online) · cmn 迷因 (unit of cultural information) · cmn 彌 /弥 (unit of cultural information) · es momo (media copied and circulated online) · af meem (unit of cultural information) · id meme (media copied and circulated online) · cmn 米姆 (media copied and circulated online) · uk мем (media copied and circulated online) · cmn 迷迷 (media copied and circulated online) · fa-ira میم (unit of cultural information) · tr göğüs (media copied and circulated online) · cmn 哏 (media copied and circulated online) · mk ја́сјас (unit of cultural information) · fr mème (unit of cultural information) · it meme (unit of cultural information) · ko 밈 (unit of cultural information)

wikipedia: Mike Godwin · wikipedia: The Selfish Gene · wikidata: Q2927074

meme en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /miːm/
• (US) audio
• mēm

Etymology

Clipping of mimeme, equivalent to mime + -eme. Coined by British biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976 in his book The Selfish Gene. Shortened (after gene) from mimeme (compare English phoneme), anglicized as if from a noun derived from Ancient Greek μῑμέομαι (mīméomai) with the deverbal suffix -μα (-ma), from μῖμος (mîmos, “imitation, copy”). The concept was later applied to the Internet by Mike Godwin.

Meanings

1. (Internet, intransitive) To create and use humorous memes.
   • Yesterday afternoon four kids went to the hospital for injuries resulting from memeing in front of a local cafe. Faith Hilling, Taylor Swifting. These are things that will get you killed! 2012 March 28, Trey Parker, “Faith Hilling”, in South Park, season 16, episode 3, spoken by Lamont:
   • One axiom commonly seen on /pol/ is "The Left Can't Meme"; in other words, left-wing meme jokes aren't funny. 2018, Eric W. Saeger, Russian Nazi Troll Bots!:
2. (Internet, transitive) To turn into a meme; to use a meme, especially to achieve a goal in real life.
   • David Moyes succeeding Slaven Bilić as West Ham United manager is being memed into existence by the internet, Football Burp understands. 2017 November 6, “David Moyes to West Ham “memed into existence by the internet””, in Football Burp, retrieved 02 Dec 2017:
   • Scott Greer, a deputy editor of the Daily Caller, tweeted, “Cernovich memed #SickHillary into reality. Never doubt the power of memes.” 2016 October 31, Andrew Marantz, “Trolls for Trump”, in The New Yorker, retrieved 02 Dec 2017:
   • “Succession’s language is so specific, unique and captivating that nearly every line is worthy of being ‘memed’, even if it’s just somebody saying ‘fuck off’ or ‘bad tweet!’” she says. 2022 September 22, Jess Thomson, “‘Becoming a meme totally helps a show’: is TV being written with epic gifs in mind?”, in The Guardian:
   • In my experience the films that typically get memed are either really terrible (Madame Web), so huge that they’re everywhere (Barbie), or have a cast stacked with familiar faces so the memes cast a wide net for potential sharing. 2024 March 5, Gabriella Paiella, quoting Messineo, “Why ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ Became One of the Most Memed Films of the Year”, in GQ:
3. (Internet, broadly, intransitive) To joke around.
   • Some of his fellow fascists thought he was just “meming and pranking”; others dismissed it as “some autistic phase.” 2019, Rachel Monroe, Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession, →ISBN:
   • actually, it wasn't my mental functioning. i'm just meming. 2004 May 17, you, “Truth vs. Lies”, in alt.slack (Usenet):
   • “[P]ewdiepie is, once again, doing exactly what neo-nazis want,” Kotaku reporter Nathan Grayson commented on Twitter in response to the incident. “[W]hether he’s just meming or he ascribes to these values, it doesn’t matter. [W]hat matters is that he normalizes these ideas as jokes on THE platform where kids increasingly get their first exposure to the world at large.” 2018 December 13, Aja Romano, “YouTube’s most popular user amplified anti-Semitic rhetoric. Again.”, in Vox:

Forms

Deriveds

meme on

Synonyms

memeify

wikipedia: Mike Godwin · wikipedia: The Selfish Gene

meme en · NOUN · etymology 2

Etymology

From French mémé (“granny”).

Meanings

1. (informal, qualifier:term of endearment) Granny; nana.
   • Then there was my Meme, my father's mother. She was one of the most wonderful, loving, craziest, funniest people I ever had in my life. 2014, Sarah O'Malley, Touching the Edge of Heaven, page 3:
   • When my parents got a divorce my dad washed his hands of my mom and me. He just pretended neither she nor I existed. If it weren't for my Meme, I would have lost all contact with the Atwood family after the divorce. 2011, David G. Atwood II, Into Hell I Rode, page 32:

Forms