aide-mémoire
Americannoun
noun
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a note serving as a reminder
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a summarized diplomatic communication
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of aide-mémoire
1840–50; < French: literally, (that which) aids (the) memory
Explanation
In political science and international relations, an aide-memoire is an unofficial written summary of some agreement, proposal, or action. One country may send an aide-memoire to another during peacemaking negotiations. Because it's an aide-memoire and not an official document, neither country is expected to be held to any agreements listed in it — it's more of an informal proposal. Groups like the World Trade Organization and the United Nations often use aide-memoirs in their interactions. Aide-memoire comes from the French words aider, "to help," and mémoire, "memory."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
How the toy-to-boy communication takes place, however, remains unclear for quite a while, because Malone refuses to part with his aide-mémoire.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 8, 2021
After all, if fashion teaches us anything, it is how easy it is to forget, even with a physical object left behind as an aide-mémoire.
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2021
It can seem sadly fitting that Johnson carries around a résumé as her central aide-mémoire.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 23, 2015
With 11 of the 12 Sports Personality of the Year nominations going to Olympic and Paralympic athletes, here is the final part of our guide, as an aide-mémoire for when voting begins on Sunday evening.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 15, 2012
Conran documents his parties the new-fashioned way, photographing them with his iPhone, then loading the images onto his computer to create “an aide-mémoire, sort of.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2011
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
