memento

[ muh-men-toh ]

See synonyms for memento on Thesaurus.com

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.

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 , momentum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use memento in a sentence

Fleeing their homes, many Syrians left behind middle-class lives; most arrived with none of the mementos that stir memory.
Drawing on the Memories of Syrian Women | Masha Hamilton | November 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Why light candles and leave mementos out in the open to be weathered and ruined?
David Best Creates a Temple Made of Memories Outside San Francisco | Debra A. Klein | February 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
I am thankful everyday that the hospital staff made sure I received those mementos.
Daily Beast Readers React to YouTube Stillborn Baby Memorials | Brandy Zadrozny | November 12, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Hospitals make mementos for parents to take home: plaster molds of tiny hands, footprints, hospital bracelets.
Parents of Stillborn Babies Post Hundreds of Memorials to YouTube | Brandy Zadrozny | November 4, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
I keep two sentimental mementos on my desk to remind me of two favorite men.
Scott Turow: How I Write | Noah Charney | October 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

Here we hoped to secure a few mementos of our visit to Stratford by motor car.
British Highways And Byways From A Motor Car | Thomas D. Murphy
One of these rooms also contains many mementos of travel and sport in various climes.
The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 28, April 1893 | Various
My new nieces also seemed to partake of the same kind spirit, and gave us valuable mementos of their affection.
Mary and I | Stephen Return Riggs
These lads had picked up shells on and beneath the dock to keep as mementos of the "Battle."
The Everett massacre | Walker C. Smith
The mention of the bible, slippers and the other personal mementos had called up the dearest picture he ever knew.
The Incendiary | W. A. (William Augustine) Leahy

British Dictionary definitions for memento

memento

/ (mɪˈmɛntəʊ) /

nounplural -tos or -toes

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

Origin of memento

C15: from Latin, imperative of meminisse to remember

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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