pricked on by a most emulate pride William Shakespeare
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If imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, then past speakers of English clearly had a great admiration for the Latin language. The verb emulate joined the ranks of Latin-derived English terms in the 16th century. It comes from aemulus, a Latin term for "rivaling" or "envious." Two related adjectives—emulate and emulous—appeared within a half-century of the verb emulate. Both mean "striving to emulate; marked by a desire to imitate or rival" or sometimes "jealous," but emulous is rare these days and the adjective emulate is obsolete. The latter did have a brief moment of glory, however, when William Shakespeare used it in Hamlet:
VerbIf you are talking to someone younger, do not condescend. If you are talking to someone older, back up feelings with facts and never be in such a rush to make your point that you forget the art of listening. And please, no one try to emulate the histrionic, discursive style of any talking heads you see on television. William Norwich, Vogue, 9 Sept. 2008Although some schools are postponing new projects because of the faltering economy, others are forging ahead with plans to emulate freshman programs that have long existed at some of the nation's oldest colleges. Jeninne Lee-St. John, Time, 27 Oct. 2008I started out emulating Chandler in that first book, maybe the first book and a half, because I was in my novitiate, and whenever I wasn't clear on what to do I would actively think about Chandler and what Marlow would have done. Robert B. Parker et al., Colloquium on Crime, 1986 She grew up emulating her sports heroes. artists emulating the style of their teachers
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The building is about 150 years old and carries a history of the entrepreneurial spirit that Hayes and Creten wanted to emulate. Lydia Morrell, Journal Sentinel, 22 July 2022 The presence of models and moguls on the Amalfi Coast is not new—neither are the tourists who seek to emulate them. Jenny Singer, Glamour, 13 July 2022 Some states, like North Carolina, serve as models that lawmakers in other states seek to emulate. Patrick Gleason, Forbes, 7 June 2022 The Cowboys do not seek to emulate the defending Super Bowl champion Rams’ blueprint of mortgaging draft picks in bold trades for veterans. Jori Epstein, USA TODAY, 26 Apr. 2022 Marianismo, the counter to Machismo, encourages women to strive to emulate the Virgin Mary by being self-sacrificial for the family. Jasmine Rangel, refinery29.com, 5 Apr. 2022 President Biden and Democrats seek to emulate Western Europe’s welfare states. Greg Ip, WSJ, 29 Sep. 2021 Bankers have long feared that U.S. tech giants would one day seek to emulate digital-payment systems in Asia, where apps have begun supplanting cash and credit cards. Jennifer Surane, Bloomberg.com, 18 Nov. 2020 The trick is to emulate August weather and start watering very early in the season. Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Aug. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb
borrowed from Latin aemulātus, past participle of aemulārī "to vie with, rival, imitate," derivative of aemulus "rivaling, emulous"