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
Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 3 Nov. 2025
Added to the trauma of grief and sudden eviction under threat of reprisal, Adelaida has to endure seeing the sacred mementos of her mother’s life trashed by the thuggish new squatters.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
For a sweetly-scented memento of your time spent in town, be sure to stop in at Lavendel Dame.
—Erika Ebsworth-Goold, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2025
There were few mementos of the movie-star years.
—Joy Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for memento
Cite this Entry
“Memento.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/memento. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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memento
noun
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