commemoration

[kuh-mem-uh-rey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of commemorating.

2. a service, celebration, etc., in memory of some person or event.

3. a memorial.

4. (in many Christian churches) a special service or prayer for commemorating the lesser feast on days on which two feasts of unequal rank are celebrated.

Other Word Forms

• commemorational adjective
• noncommemoration noun
• noncommemorational adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of commemoration¹

1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin commemorātiōn- (stem of commemorātiō ), equivalent to commemorāt ( us ) ( commemorate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

"We're opening up our country," he said at a Veteran's Day commemoration at Arlington Cemetery.

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Thursday's commemorations will be held throughout the day at the various attack sites, culminating with the opening of a 13 November garden near Paris City Hall.

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The event, which the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duchess of Gloucester will also attend, continues the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of VJ Day - or Victory over Japan Day.

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So, what does public commemoration mean when the veterans themselves have all died - and when there are few alive today who remember first-hand the mass shared grief that gave rise to them?

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King Charles led the annual Remembrance Sunday commemorations, laying a wreath at the solemn ceremony held at the Cenotaph on Whitehall in central London.

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Related Words

• celebration 
• ceremony 
• remembrance 
• tribute