Memento

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -É›ntəʊ

Origin

From the Latin mementō ("remember!"), imperative form of meminī ("I remember").

Full definition of memento

Noun

1. A keepsake; an object kept as a reminder of a place or event.I kept the shell as a memento of my visit to the seashore.
• 2011, December 16, Denis Campbell, Hospital staff 'lack skills to cope with dementia patients', Many hospitals have not taken simple steps to lessen the distress and confusion which dementia sufferers' often feel on being somewhere so unfamiliar – such as making signs large and easy to read, using colour schemes to help patients find their way around unfamiliar wards and not putting family mementoes such as photographs nearby.

Usage notes

The alternate spelling momento is so common, some references now no longer consider it a misspelling.

Synonyms

• keepsake
• souvenir
• (plural) memorabilia