Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Emulation

Emulation , noun

[Latin aemulatio: compare French émulation.]

1.
The endeavor to equal or to excel another in qualities or actions; an assiduous striving to equal or excel another; rivalry.
A noble emulation heats your breast. — Dryden
2.
Jealous rivalry; envy; envious contention.
Such factious emulations shall arise. — Shakespeare
3.
imitation (of an admired model) for the purpose of improving one's own qualities.
[Chivalry was] an ideal which, if never met with in real life, was acknowledged by all as the highest model for emulation. — Thomas Bulfinch (Mythology)
4.
(Computers) the imitation of the actions of a computer system or component, especially a processor, by means of a computer program, with the goal of predicting the behavior and performance characteristics of that system without actually manufacturing it.
1996 marked the year that emulation became a mainstream design verification tool. — Computer Design (editorial, 1998)