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memento
[ muh-men-toh ]
/ məˈmɛn toʊ /
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noun, plural me·men·tos, me·men·toes.
an object or item that serves to remind one of a person, past event, etc.; keepsake; souvenir.
anything serving as a reminder or warning.
(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.
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Origin of memento
1350–1400; Middle English <Latin mementō, imperative of meminisse to remember
usage note for memento
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.
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH memento
memento , momentumWords nearby memento
membranous labyrinth, meme, me-media, memeify, Memel, memento, memento mori, Memling, Memnon, Memnonia, memo
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use memento in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for memento
memento
/ (mɪˈmɛntəʊ) /
noun plural -tos or -toes
something that reminds one of past events; souvenir
RC Church either of two prayers occurring during the Mass
Word Origin for memento
C15: from Latin, imperative of meminisse to remember
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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