mimesis (n.)

in rhetoric, "imitation or reproduction of the words of another," especially in order to represent his character, 1540s, from Greek mimēsis "imitation, representation, representation by art," from mimeisthai "to mimic, represent, imitate, portray," in art, "to express by means of imitation," from mimos "mime" (see mime (n.)). In zoology, "mimicry," by 1845.