We need a name for the new replicator, a noun that conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. 'Mimeme' comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like 'gene'. I hope my classicist friends will forgive me if I abbreviate mimeme to meme. If it is any consolation, it could alternatively be thought of as being related to 'memory', or to the French word même. It should be pronounced to rhyme with 'cream'. [Richard Dawkins, "The Selfish Gene," 1976]
由当代英国演化生物学家根据希腊语杜撰出来的一个词。来自希腊语mimeisthai,模仿，词源同mime,mimetic.用于指生物的模仿传递行为，拼写部分受到gene的影响。