memorandum

[mem-uh-ran-duh m]

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noun, plural mem·o·ran·dums, mem·o·ran·da [mem-uh-ran-duh] /ˌmɛm əˈræn də/.

a short note designating something to be remembered, especially something to be done or acted upon in the future; reminder.

a record or written statement of something.

an informal message, especially one sent between two or more employees of the same company, concerning company business: an interoffice memorandum.

Law. a writing, usually informal, containing the terms of a transaction.

Diplomacy. a summary of the state of an issue, the reasons for a decision agreed on, etc.

a document transferring title to goods but authorizing the return of the goods to the seller at the option of the buyer.

Origin of memorandum

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin: something to be noted, noun use of neuter of memorandus, gerundive of memorāre to mention, tell

Related formspre·mem·o·ran·dum, noun, plural pre·mem·o·ran·dums, pre·mem·o·ran·da.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for memoranda

announcement, notice, directive, memo, diary, letter, message, notation, chit, record, dispatch, epistle, reminder, missive, minute, tickler, jotting

Examples from the Web for memoranda

Contemporary Examples of memoranda

Mandery knows when to be pithy and when to go long, like in passages about the subtleties of memoranda.
This Week’s Hot Reads: August 19, 2013
Jen Vafidis
August 19, 2013
That said, it provided the court with classified emails, memoranda, contracts, and photos.
Exclusive: Court Docs Reveal Blackwater’s Secret CIA Past
Eli Lake
March 14, 2013
Parts of the memoranda were withdrawn in 2005 and the Obama administration has repudiated their contents.
Is Leon Panetta Covering Up Torture?
John Sifton
April 8, 2009

Historical Examples of memoranda

William did so and I gave the driver the address from my memoranda.
Kent Knowles: Quahaug
Joseph C. Lincoln
The above may serve as memoranda of the duties which will claim your chief attention.
The Cavalry General
Xenophon
Bobby had seen the memoranda for the supper, and had advised her in regard to some of the details.
The Dominant Strain
Anna Chapin Ray
He had no letters, memoranda in his pockets, bearing his name.
Garrison's Finish
W. B. M. Ferguson
He added that the "Memoranda" was not necessarily a humorous department.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete
Albert Bigelow Paine

British Dictionary definitions for memoranda

memorandum

noun plural -dums or -da (-də)

a written statement, record, or communication such as within an office

a note of things to be remembered

an informal diplomatic communication, often unsigned: often summarizing the point of view of a government

law a short written summary of the terms of a transaction

Often (esp for senses 1, 2) shortened to: memo

Word Origin for memorandum

C15: from Latin: (something) to be remembered

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

Word Origin and History for memoranda

memorandum

early 15c., from Latin memorandum "(thing) to be remembered," neuter singular of memorandus "worthy of remembrance, noteworthy," gerundive of memorare "to call to mind," from memor "mindful of" (see memory). Originally a word written at the top of a note, by 1540s it came to stand for the note itself. The Latin plural is memoranda. Cf. also agenda.