memento

[ muh-men-toh ]

noun

, plural me·men·tos, me·men·toes.

1. an object or item that serves to remind one of a person, past event, etc.; keepsake; souvenir.
2. anything serving as a reminder or warning.
3. (initial capital letter, italics) Roman Catholic Church. either of two prayers in the canon of the Mass, one for persons living and the other for persons dead.

memento

/ mɪˈmɛntəʊ /

noun

1. something that reminds one of past events; souvenir
2. RC Church either of two prayers occurring during the Mass

Spelling Note

Memento is sometimes spelled momento, perhaps by association with moment. The word is actually related to remember. One of its earliest meanings was “something that serves to warn.” The meaning “souvenir” is a recent development: The stone animal carvings are mementos of our trip to Victoria. Momento is considered by many to be a misspelling, but it occurs so frequently in edited writing that some regard it as a variant spelling rather than an error.

Word History and Origins

Origin of memento¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin mementō, imperative of meminisse to remember

Word History and Origins

Origin of memento¹

C15: from Latin, imperative of meminisse to remember

Example Sentences

A mad scramble for the historic ball ensued among the fans in the left-center field, with a man identified in court documents as Florida resident Christian Zacek emerging with the valuable memento.

From Los Angeles Times

So I’ve been introducing them to classics like “The Usual Suspects” and “Memento.”

From Los Angeles Times

A mad scramble among fans ended with Zacek emerging in possession of the valuable memento.

From Los Angeles Times

But from the inside, this nonprofit arts and culture organization appears to be nothing more than a diverse community of inquisitive minds happy to spend an entire Saturday listening to lectures about death and dying at the Memento Mori Festival hosted in their 200-person auditorium.

From Los Angeles Times

On Tuesday night, as the A’s notched a 5-4 walk-off win over the Texas Rangers, a couple of crafty fans attempted to take home a special memento from the team’s antepenultimate game at the Oakland Coliseum:

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• keepsake
• relic
• remembrance
• reminder
• token
• trophy