Definition of MEMENTO

Did You Know?

Memento comes from the imperative form of "meminisse," a Latin verb that literally means "to remember." (The term memento mori, meaning "a reminder of mortality," translates as "remember that you must die.") 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." That second version is usually considered a misspelling, but it appears often enough in edited prose to have been considered acceptable for entry in Webster's Third New International Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary.

Examples of memento in a Sentence

a collection of photographs and mementos It was a memento of our trip.

Recent Examples on the Web

Henríquez lives in a yellow two-story rented house here in the state of Sonsonate amid mementos of Cindy and Ximena. — Joshua Partlow, Washington Post, "The story behind the girl in the recording who begs for her aunt after being separated from her migrant mother," 21 June 2018 As a memento of the night, Pappion Artistry did a live painting for Brice. ******* To reach Sue Strachan, send an email to socialscene@nola.com or call 504.450.5904. — Sue Strachan, NOLA.com, "Brice Berger honored at party with Carnival flair," 5 Feb. 2018 Fill empty spaces with dry cleaner bags (and fill them later with mementos from your trip). — Nicole Saporita, Good Housekeeping, "14 Genius Packing Tips to Help You Travel Like a Pro," 9 Apr. 2019 But architect John Toya, who lives off Alamo Square, brought his personality and a sense of whimsy to his apartment, filling it with mementos from his travels and reclaimed industrial cast-offs. — Asad Syrkett, Curbed, "Year in Curbed: The best of House Calls," 26 Dec. 2018 A few weeks ago, the family of Neil Armstrong began selling hundreds of his mementos online through Heritage Auctions. — Robert Lee Hotz, WSJ, "Your Chance to Own a Piece of the Moon," 25 Nov. 2018 While Breitbart editors and writers no longer linger at all hours inside the embassy, remnants of the website remain in Breitbart mementos hanging from the wall and coffee mugs with the signature block B logo strewn about the kitchen. — New York Times, "Stephen Bannon Buys Into Bitcoin," 14 June 2018 After a month under the South Florida sun, mementos left for the victims of the Stoneman Douglas shooting have started to fade. — Phillip Valys, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Volunteers preserve Parkland shrines with 'utmost care'," 16 Mar. 2018 Reporters who are on the scene covering the tragedy documented people approaching the cars and placing mementos on social media. — Eileen Reslen, Country Living, "People Are Leaving Flowers and Stuffed Animals on Cars Left Behind by Ride the Ducks Victims," 20 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'memento.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.