memorandum
[mem-uh-ran-duh m]
- 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.
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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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
announcementnoticedirectivememodiarylettermessagenotationchitrecorddispatchepistleremindermissiveminuteticklerjottingExamples from the Web for memoranda
Contemporary Examples
Mandery knows when to be pithy and when to go long, like in passages about the subtleties of memoranda.
That said, it provided the court with classified emails, memoranda, contracts, and photos.
Parts of the memoranda were withdrawn in 2005 and the Obama administration has repudiated their contents.
Historical Examples
William did so and I gave the driver the address from my memoranda.
Kent Knowles: QuahaugJoseph C. Lincoln
The above may serve as memoranda of the duties which will claim your chief attention.
The Cavalry GeneralXenophon
Bobby had seen the memoranda for the supper, and had advised her in regard to some of the details.
The Dominant StrainAnna Chapin Ray
He had no letters, memoranda in his pockets, bearing his name.
Garrison's FinishW. B. M. Ferguson
His memoranda were never used, his mining claim was never identified.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, CompleteAlbert Bigelow Paine
memorandum
- 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
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Often (esp for senses 1, 2) shortened to: memo
Word Origin
C15: from Latin: (something) to be remembered
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for memoranda
memorandum
n.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper