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
Laura Ungar, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2025
The journal page is among the items in the exhibit, along with assorted mementos from throughout her career and childhood.
—Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2025
Graduates may save the cap and its accompanying tassel as souvenirs, mementos of their accomplishment, but the gowns, 1,600 of them from my son’s college graduation alone, will go to the landfill.
—Chicago Tribune, 3 June 2025
Travelers can expect to see photos and mementos from Hagar’s music career.
—Sydney Sasser, Charlotte Observer, 13 June 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 4 Jul. 2025.
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memento
noun
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