Skip to the word

Added 7 October 2026

simulacrum

/ˌsɪmjʊˈleɪkɹəm/ noun

Latin root: simulācrum Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about simulacrum at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A physical image or representation of a deity, person, or thing.
a simulacrum of a New York studio apartment
A thing which has the appearance or form of another thing, but not its true qualities; a thing which simulates another thing; an imitation; a semblance.

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin simulācrum (“image, likeness”), from simul(ā) + -crum (a variant of -culum, from Proto-Indo-European *-tlom, a suffix forming instrument nouns), from similis (“similar (to)”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one; together”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word