memento
noun
Libby Lubin
Did you know?
In Latin, memento is the imperative form (meaning it is used as a command) of meminisse, a verb that means “to remember.” (The term memento mori, which refers to a reminder of mortality, translates literally as “remember that you must die,” for example). The history of memento makes it clear where its spelling came from, but because a memento often helps one remember a particular moment, people occasionally spell the term momento. This is typically considered a misspelling, but it appears often enough in edited prose (including the work of such esteemed authors as George Eliot and Dylan Thomas) to have been entered in most dictionaries as an acceptable variant spelling.
Examples of memento in a Sentence
Kylie Petty, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 May 2026
That price tag makes the memento the most expensive piece from the watchmaker to ever sell at the block.
—Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 12 May 2026
Pregnancy mementos take myriad forms.
—Elizabeth Kiefer, Architectural Digest, 8 May 2026
For years, the stick was in my childhood bedroom, a memento from my earliest hiking memory.
—Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for memento
Cite this Entry
“Memento.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/memento. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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memento
noun
