simulacrum

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 19, 2008 is: simulacrum • \sim-yuh-LAK-rum\ • noun 1 : image, representation 2 : an insubstantial form or semblance of something : trace Examples: The magazine is still in publication, but, since the change in ownership, it is but a simulacrum of its former self. Did you know? It's not a figment of your imagination; there is a similarity between "simulacrum" and "simulate." Both of those English words derive from "simulare," a Latin verb meaning "to copy, represent, or feign." In its earliest English uses, "simulacrum" named something that provided an image or representation (as, for instance, a portrait, marble statue, or wax figure representing a person). Perhaps because a simulacrum, no matter how skillfully done, is not the real thing, the word gained an extended sense emphasizing the superficiality or insubstantiality of a thing. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.