reminiscence
[rem-uh-nis-uh ns]
- the act or process of recalling past experiences, events, etc.
- a mental impression retained and revived.
- Often reminiscences. a recollection narrated or told: reminiscences of an American soldier.
- something that recalls or suggests something else.
- (in Platonic philosophy) anamnesis(def 2).
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Origin of reminiscence
Synonyms
See more synonyms for reminiscence on Thesaurus.com1. recollection. 2. memory. 3. anecdote, tale, memoir. 4. reminder.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for reminiscence
Contemporary Examples
A scene about Townsend will slip into a reminiscence about his childhood, or a forecasting of his death.
The photo-sharing app that was recently sold to Facebook for a billion dollars (yes, with a “b”) also peddles in reminiscence.
When a reminiscence got going in the Back Trace, nights, it worked like a freestyle morphine jazz.
Must Reads: Kennedy, Sontag and Paris, ‘A Partial History of Lost Causes,’ ‘City of Bohane,’ ‘Flatscreen’Lauren Elkin, Mythili Rao, Drew Toal, Nicholas Mancusi
April 6, 2012
Elimination is your watchword, whether chucking 20th century memorabilia or relationships hinged on reminiscence.
Lois and Frank's suicide pact in the series finale—as they reminiscence about halcyon days—is a chance for peace and release.
Historical Examples
Let us then content ourselves with a reminiscence of the opening night.
He did not advance any reminiscence of what had happened since he came to the schloss.
The First ViolinJessie Fothergill
And suddenly there appeared in her face a reminiscence of the face of the Marchesino.
A Spirit in PrisonRobert Hichens
He relapsed into silence, smiling and dwelling with gratification on this reminiscence.
The Fat and the ThinEmile Zola
And memory is the preservation of consciousness, and reminiscence is the recovery of consciousness.
PhilebusPlato
reminiscence
- the act of recalling or narrating past experiences
- (often plural) some past experience, event, etc, that is recalled or narrated; anecdote
- an event, phenomenon, or experience that reminds one of something else
- (in the philosophy of Plato) the doctrine that perception and recognition of particulars is possible because the mind has seen the universal forms of all things in a previous disembodied existence
- psychol the ability to perform a task better when tested some time after the task has been learnt than when tested immediately after learning it
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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 reminiscence
n.
1580s, "act of remembering," from Middle French reminiscence (14c.) and directly from Late Latin reminiscentia "remembrance, recollection" (a loan-translation of Greek anamnesis), from Latin reminiscentem (nominative reminiscens), present participle of reminisci "remember, recall to mind," from re- "again" (see re-) + minisci "to remember," from root of mens "mind," from PIE root *men- "mind, understanding, reason" (see mind (n.)). Meaning "a recollection of something past" is attested from 1811.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper