verb
mimemō
Greekμιμέομαι (mimeomai)
Strong’sG3401
I imitate
stem mim-4 times in the New Testamentin 3 of 27 books3 forms occur
Translated as
What it means
μιμέομαι, -οῦμαι
(< μῖμος, a mimic, an actor), [in LXX: Ps 30 (31):6, Wi 4:2 15:9, IV Mac 9:23 13:9*;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3401 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidmim-eh'-om-ahee
to imitate
Frommiddle voice from μῖμος (a "mimic");
King Jamesfollow.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Forms in the New Testament
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| mimesōrμιμοῦ | happening now · youpresent middle imperative 2nd person singular | imitate | 1× |
| mimevōrμιμεῖσθε | happening now · yepresent middle imperative 2nd person plural | imitate | 1× |
| mimerōμιμεῖσθαι | happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle infinitive | imitate | 2× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 86, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | mimemō | mimeme | mimemi | mimema | mimemē | mimemelē |
| you 2nd person singular | mimesō | mimese | mimesi | mimesa | mimesē | mimeselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | mimetō | mimete | mimeti | mimeta | mimetē | mimetelē |
| we 1st person plural | mimenō | mimene | mimeni | mimena | mimenē | mimenelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | mimevō | mimeve | mimevi | mimeva | mimevē | mimevelē |
| they 3rd person plural | mimelō | mimele | mimeli | mimela | mimelē | mimelelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | mimemeiō | mimemeia | mimemeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | mimeseiō | mimeseia | mimeseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | mimeteiō | mimeteia | mimeteiē |
| we 1st person plural | mimeneiō | mimeneia | mimeneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | mimeveiō | mimeveia | mimeveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | mimeleiō | mimeleia | mimeleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 2 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | mimesōr1×μιμοῦ | mimesar | mimesēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | mimetōr | mimetar | mimetēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | mimevōr1×μιμεῖσθε | mimevar | mimevēr |
| they 3rd person plural | mimelōr | mimelar | mimelēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | mimemoiō | mimemoia |
| you 2nd person singular | mimesoiō | mimesoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | mimetoiō | mimetoia |
| we 1st person plural | mimenoiō | mimenoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | mimevoiō | mimevoia |
| they 3rd person plural | mimeloiō | mimeloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 2 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on or for itself middle voice | mimerō2×μιμεῖσθαι | mimeri | mimera | mimerē |
Used as an adjective — participle, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on or for itself middle voice | mimerōtos | mimeritos | mimeratos | mimerētos |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
mim is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
4 occurrences, every one of them listed
mimesōr“imitate”happening now · youpresent middle imperative 2nd person singular1×
3 John 1:11“imitate”Agapētor, mē mimesōr tem kakem alla tem agathem. tos agathopoiarōtos ek tou theou atō; tos kakopoiarōtos ouk horatē ton theon.Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
mimevōr“imitate”happening now · yepresent middle imperative 2nd person plural1×
Hebrews 13:7“imitate”Mnēmoneuavōr toiu hēgerōtoiu vu, hotinois lalala vi ton logon tou theou, hoiu anatheōrarōtois tan ekbasian tau anastrofau mimevōr tan pistian.Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
mimerō“imitate”happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle infinitive2×
2 Thessalonians 3:7“imitate”autois gar oidavē pōs datō mimerō nin, hoti ouk ataktana en viFor you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you,
2 Thessalonians 3:9“imitate”ouk hoti ouk echanō exousian, alla hina heautoin tupon dōaneia vi eis tem mimerō nin.Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate.