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
Eve Chen, USA Today, 6 May 2025
Zoom in: Small, meaningful mementos from the people who died, like baby shoes or tassels from a school graduation, are housed inside these bricks behind translucent glass.
—Annalise Frank, Axios, 9 Apr. 2025
Ovechkin took that advice to heart—and with each signature one-timer slammed in from the left side of the ice, his mementos have become more valuable.
—Eric Jackson, Sportico.com, 7 Mar. 2025
Beyond the exhibits are a food hall and multiple gift shops selling a range of mementos.
—Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 25 Apr. 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 22 May. 2025.
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memento
noun
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