memento

noun

me·​men·​to mə-ˈmen-(ˌ)tō How to pronounce memento (audio)
nonstandard
mō- How to pronounce memento (audio)
plural mementos or mementoes
: something that serves to warn or remind
a museum filled with war mementosLibby Lubin
also : souvenir
mementos of their travels

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. This is usually considered a misspelling, but it appears often enough in edited prose to have been entered in most dictionaries as an acceptable variant spelling.

Examples of memento in a Sentence

a collection of photographs and mementos It was a memento of our trip.
Recent Examples on the Web The Czech Republic holds ninth place, with Bohemian crystal as the most popular memento. Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024 Thirty minutes later, devoted fans were still lined up in the lower bowl looking to fill plastic cups with Coliseum dirt for a memento. Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 26 Sep. 2024 However, think twice before sliding a memento box under your bed. Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Sep. 2024 The new ring in her jewelry box features larger gems on a bigger band, while the sentimental memento said to be from William has only a few stones. Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 11 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for memento 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'memento.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin, remember, imperative of meminisse to remember; akin to Latin ment-, mens mind — more at mind

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of memento was in 1580

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Dictionary Entries Near memento

Cite this Entry

“Memento.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/memento. Accessed 6 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

memento

noun
me·​men·​to mi-ˈment-ō How to pronounce memento (audio)
plural mementos or mementoes
: something that serves to warn or remind
also : souvenir
mementos of a trip

More from Merriam-Webster on memento

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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