simulacrum

*****************************************************************
It's National Poetry Month! Set your own poetry in motion
with Merriam-Webster's Rhyming Dictionary.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?rhym_pbk.htm&6/
*****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for April 12 is:

simulacrum   \sim-yuh-LAK-rum\   noun
     1 : image, representation
   *2 : an insubstantial form or semblance of something : trace

Example sentence:
     After the numerous changes put in place by his editor, the 
final piece seemed to be a mere simulacrum of the essay Daniel 
had submitted.

Did you know?
     It's not a figment of your imagination; there is a 
similarity between "simulacrum" and "simulate." Both of those 
English words derive from "simulare," a Latin verb meaning "to 
imitate." In its earliest English uses, "simulacrum" named 
something that provided an image or representation (as, for 
instance, a portrait, marble statue, or wax figure representing 
a person). Perhaps because a simulacrum, no matter how 
skillfully done, is not the real thing, the word gained an 
extended sense emphasizing the superficiality or 
insubstantiality of a thing. Today, the word is used as a 
synonym of "counterfeit" or "fake," but to be fair, 
a "simulacrum" is generally not intended to deceive or defraud; 
rather, the word implies that something completely lacks 
substance or reality.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.