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
Ali Faccenda, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Apr. 2024
Keep your eclipse glasses from 2024 total solar eclipse
Feel free to keep your eclipse glasses as a memento from the occurrence or for future use.
—Marina Johnson, The Indianapolis Star, 9 Apr. 2024
Visitors can pick up a memento at Viking Traders, How to Treat Your Dragon, Hiccup’s Work Shop, or Toothless’ Treasures.
—Mackenzie Schmidt, Peoplemag, 28 Mar. 2024
There was also a map of the world, a soccer ball, an acoustic guitar, a violin, a backgammon set from Turkey, and a decorative gold eagle with a wing snapped off—a cautionary memento from January 6th.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024
Other family mementos, including the badge and number his father used as a young police officer, hang on the living-room wall of his home in West Bloomfield, about a half hour northwest of Detroit.
—USA TODAY, 17 Feb. 2024
There were roughly 1,600 additional mementos also sold at the auction, hammering down for a total of $15.68 million.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 26 Mar. 2024
The glimpses of home-video footage under the end credits, of the filmmaker’s mother and herself at Mona’s age, are mementos of a time Niasari clearly treasures for all its hardship.
—Ty Burr, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024
Limited tickets are available for $150 each, and include parking, drinks and snacks, eclipse glasses and other mementos.
—Detroit Free Press, 26 Feb. 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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“Memento.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/memento. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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memento
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on memento
Nglish: Translation of memento for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of memento for Arabic Speakers
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