What is a meme & how does it work?

A meme is a concept or idea that spreads virally from person to person. The most popular memes are usually found on the internet and may be images, videos, phrases, or hashtags. They often convey a humorous point of view, cultural reference, or satirical message. How does a meme work?

Where did the word meme come from?

The first published case of the word meme (pronounced “Meem,” not me-me), dates back to Richard Dawkins’ 1976 book, The Selfish Gene. Dawkins referred to it as a “Mimeme”—a word derived from Greek that means “that which is imitated.” The word was then abbreviated to just “meme” due to its similarity to the word “gene.”

What is a “meme” in linguistics?

In Mr. Dawkins’s original conception, a “meme” was analogous to a “phoneme,” the smallest unit of sound in speech, or a “morpheme,” the smallest meaningful subunit of a word, Kirby Conrod, a professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College, said.

Why did Richard Dawkins call it a “meme”?

Dawkins referred to it as a “Mimeme”—a word derived from Greek that means “that which is imitated.” The word was then abbreviated to just “meme” due to its similarity to the word “gene.” Dawkins coined the term because he was trying to figure out whether there was a measurable unit describing how ideas spread and propagated through generations.