Emily Dickinson Lexicon

IM-I'TATE, v.i. [Fr. imiter; Sp. and Port. imitar; It. imitare; L. imitor; allied perhaps to Gr. ὁμος, similar, equal.]

1. To follow in manners; to copy in form, color or quality. We imitate another in dress or manners; we imitate a statue, a painting, a sound, an action, when we make or do that which resembles it. We should seek the best models to imitate, and in morals and piety, it is our duty to imitate the example of our Savior. But as we can not always make an exact similitude of the original, hence,
2. To attempt or endeavor to copy or resemble; as, to imitate the colors of the rainbow, or any of the beauties of nature. Cicero appears to have imitated the Greek orators.
3. To counterfeit. This hand appear'd a shining sword to wield, / And that sustain'd an imitated shield. Dryden.
4. To pursue the course of a composition, so as to use like images and examples. Johnson. Gay