tetimimi : TAY-tee-mee-mee

(Italian: “Thetis-mimes [Water nymph performers];” a particular type of entertainment featuring nude or semi-nude men and women swimming and dancing in the water). Introduced to Rome as early as the 1st century but became popular in the 3rd and 4th centuries CE. These performances occurred in flooded Roman theatre orchestras (kolumbēthrai) and amphitheaters. Named after “Thetis,” a mythological sea nymph, goddess of water or Nereid, and “mimi” Italian for mimes or performers. The word, “Tetimimi”, is a modern, Italian word coined by Gustavo Traversari in Gli Spettacoli In Acqua Nel Teatro Tardo-Antico. Rome. 1960.