To form a picture or idea in your mind of something that may not be real or doesn't exist yet.
From Latin 'imaginari' meaning 'to picture to oneself,' derived from 'imago' meaning 'image.' The word evolved through Old French to modern English, maintaining its core sense of creating mental pictures.
The word 'imagine' shares its Latin root 'imago' with 'image,' 'imagine,' and even 'imitation'—they're all about creating or copying a mental picture, which is why the human brain is sometimes called a 'picture-making machine.'
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