souvenir

[soo-vuh-neer, soo-vuh-neer]

See more synonyms for souvenir on Thesaurus.com

noun

a usually small and relatively inexpensive article given, kept, or purchased as a reminder of a place visited, an occasion, etc.; memento.
a memory.

Origin of souvenir

1765–75; < French, noun use of (se) souvenir to remember < Latin subvenīre to come to mind, equivalent to sub- sub- + venīre to come

Synonyms for souvenir

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1. reminder, keepsake, token.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for souvenir

trophy, relic, gift, memento, remembrance, token, reminder, memorial, remembrancer

Examples from the Web for souvenir

Contemporary Examples of souvenir

And more than anything, I wanted a souvenir for my father, so I rolled him back, and he had gold teeth.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile
Robert Ward
January 3, 2015
After the ceremony, the Greek gave back the ten grand and kept what was left of the dollar for a souvenir.
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man
John Lardner
May 17, 2014
We stop at a souvenir stand to buy buttons that proclaim I RODE IT!
The Stacks: The Inimitable Albert Brooks Caught at the Dawn of His Movie Career
Paul Slansky
April 13, 2014
He then jokes about the legal risks of keeping the butt as a souvenir for back home.
My Night at the NSFW Oscars
Richard Abowitz
January 22, 2014
She lived out her life selling his clothes to souvenir hunters and people like that.
What Lee Harvey Oswald’s Mother Told Me
Lloyd Grove
November 14, 2013

Historical Examples of souvenir

Wiggle appeared to claim the locust as a souvenir of the scout's magic.
Pee-wee Harris
Percy Keese Fitzhugh
I'd like to keep it for a souvenir, but I'm afraid you need it!
Alice Adams
Booth Tarkington
What souvenir of a great man can compete with the knocker of his door?
The Harmsworth Magazine, v. 1, 1898-1899, No. 2
Various
"I am culling a souvenir, madame," said he, plucking a moss-ross as the lady passed.
The Fortunes Of Glencore
Charles James Lever
That's right; always keep your word, and take this trifle as a souvenir of me.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

British Dictionary definitions for souvenir

souvenir

noun

an object that recalls a certain place, occasion, or person; memento

verb (tr)

Australian and NZ euphemistic, slang to steal or keep (something, esp a small article) for one's own use; purloin

Word Origin for souvenir

C18: from French, from (se) souvenir to remember, from Latin subvenīre to come to mind, from sub- up to + venīre to come

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 souvenir

1775, "a remembrance or memory," from French souvenir (12c.), from Old French noun use of souvenir (v.) "to remember, come to mind," from Latin subvenire "come to mind," from sub- "up" (see sub-) + venire "to come" (see venue). Meaning "token of remembrance, memento" is first recorded 1782.