A person who imitates or copies another person's actions, style, or ideas without originality.
From 'copy' (to imitate) + 'cat' (the animal), likely popularized in the 1890s-1900s. The exact origin of why 'cat' was added is unclear, but it may reference how cats were seen as mimics or the phrase may be playful reduplication similar to 'copydog.'
The term 'copycat' became especially popular in the early 20th century, and interestingly, it gave rise to 'copycat crime' — a real phenomenon where criminals imitate famous crimes they read about in newspapers, which is why some media outlets now restrict publishing certain crime details.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.