memento
noun
Libby Lubin
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.
Synonyms
Examples of memento in a Sentence
Christian Orozco, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2024
With no photo of his wife or kids, his only memento was a photo showing him shirtless and being consoled by his sister-in-law after hearing the news.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 15 May 2024
According to the Associated Press, flowers, an open beer, combat boots, and other mementos were left outside his apartment in Fort Walton Beach.
—Taylor Ardrey, USA TODAY, 15 May 2024
Congregation members will get the first opportunity to remove items and mementos from the church, but the community will also be given a chance to retain some elements, including furnishings.
—Jim Riccioli, Journal Sentinel, 3 May 2024
Upstairs, museum visitors learn all about Coubertin and see mementos of Olympic sports.
—John Branch, New York Times, 2 May 2024
But that has not stopped the 67-year-old from saying that the display of the heirloom in states Mama Hayes collected mementos from is to raise money to help defray the burgeoning national debt.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Apr. 2024
Guests can create custom bouquets at a bloom bouquet bar during the brunch, and there will be an opportunity to pose with a photo or memento of their mom for a professional portrait by photographer Alex Rodriquez.
—Rachel Bernhard, Journal Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2024
Perhaps Lipa — who has been steadily building her repertoire of quirky bag charms since November after starting out with just a few woven keychains — is also feeling drawn to the physical memento.
—Leah Dolan, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Memento.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/memento. Accessed 24 May. 2024.
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memento
noun
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