Meme - Word of the Day

[Merriam-Webster]( WORD OF THE DAY [July 13, 2017](#none) meme [Audio pronunciation]( noun | MEEM Definition 1 : an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture 2 : an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through [social media]( Scroll down for more about meme WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE [Words for Summer -- A Quiz]( Test your knowledge of words related to the season of longer days and vacations. [PLAY NOW]( Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! [TAKE ME THERE [>]]( Plus: [SEE WHAT LOOKUPS ARE TRENDING NOW! [>]]( Did You Know? In his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, British scientist Richard Dawkins defended his newly coined word meme, which he defined as "a unit of cultural transmission." Having first considered, then rejected, mimeme, he wrote: "Mimeme comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a [monosyllable]( that sounds a bit like [gene](." (The suitable Greek root was mim-, meaning "mime" or "mimic." The English suffix -eme indicates a distinctive unit of language structure, as in [grapheme](, [lexeme](, and [phoneme](.) Like any good meme, meme caught on and evolved, eventually developing the meaning known to anyone who spends time online, where it's most often used to refer to any one of those silly captioned photos that the Internet can't seem to get enough of. Examples of MEME "Graffiti have been the elemental memes of political speech ... in all the oppressed countries of this world." — Claude I. Salem, The New York Times Magazine, 17 Apr. 2011 "Memes are often harmless images—think of the photos of the scowling 'Grumpy Cat'—with humorous text over it, like 'the worst part of my Monday is hearing you complain about yours.'" — Michael Levenson, The Boston Globe, 6 June 2017 Test Your Vocabulary What word is the name for the conveyance of a story by bodily or facial movement in drama or dance? [VIEW THE ANSWER [>]]( WORD HISTORY Had A Long Day of Travel? Check Into A Hospital Now maybe that questionable hostel won't seem so bad... [CHECK OUT THESE FOUR RELATED WORDS THAT SHARE A SINGLE ROOT [>]]( MORE WORD FUN: [WORD GAMES [>]]( [TRENDING NOW [>]]( [WORDS AT PLAY [>]]( FOLLOW US: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( [Pinterest]( SHARE: [Facebook][Facebook]( [Twitter][Twitter]( [View this email in a web browser]( You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day. [Unsubscribe from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day]( [Manage your subscription settings]( Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA 01102 [www.merriam-webster.com](