memento mori

[muh-men-toh mawr-ahy, mohr-ahy, mawr-ee, mohr-ee, me-men-toh moh-ree]

noun

plural

memento mori 

1. (italics),  remember that you must die.

2. an object, as a skull, serving as a reminder of death or mortality.

memento mori

/ ˈmɔːriː /

noun

1. an object, such as a skull, intended to remind people of the inevitability of death

Word History and Origins

Origin of memento mori¹

First recorded in 1585–95, memento mori is from Latin mementō morī

Word History and Origins

Origin of memento mori¹

C16: Latin: remember you must die

Example Sentences

It is a chronicle, an accounting, a memento mori.

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Not even “Orange Grove Estates” as a memento mori.

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“All photographs are memento mori,” as Susan Sontag wrote in “On Photography.”

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The intoning of memento mori seeds a joyful duty toward the pursuit of human longevity as an act of grateful humility before the wonder of life.

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The death trip is a memento mori, that old medieval art tradition, which reminds us that we all die.

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Related Words

• warning 

When To Use

What does memento mori mean?

Memento mori is a Latin phrase that translates to "remember you must die."A memento mori is something, historically a skull, that serves as a reminder of death and mortality.