commemoration

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English commemoracioun,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French comemoration,^[4][5][6] whose form Anglo-Norman commemoraciun is recorded from the late 13th century,^[7] and directly borrowed from Latin commemorātiō (“a calling to mind, mention”).^{[5][4][3][8][9]} The Latin noun is formed from the past participle of commemorō (“to call to mind”),^[4][8][9] from com-, here intensive, and memorō (“to remind”), from memor (“mindful”),^[4] from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to remember”).^[4] The OED and the Shorter Oxford leave open whether English took it from French or from Latin.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A calling to mind, or a keeping in memory by a solemn observance: about 1384, in the early version of the Wycliffite Bible, at Luke 22:19, Do ȝe this thing in to my commemoracioun.^[5][2] Etymonline dates it to the late 14th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word entered English through religious use: besides the observance of the Last Supper, it named from before 1400 a church service or a short prayer in memory of a saint or a sacred event.^[5][6][4] The Anglo-Norman word already had this liturgical sense, the mention of the dead in the prayers of the Eucharist.^[7] From 1576 it also meant simply the mention or recital of something, a sense obsolete by the 1630s.^[5] Since 1632 it has also meant a public memorial.^[5][6] Johnson (1755) defined it as an act of public celebration, the solemnizing of the memory of anything.^[10][5] At Oxford, Commemoration has been since the mid-18th century the annual celebration in memory of the founders and benefactors of the university.^[5][6] Byron used it in 1823 for honourable mention.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1384 – a calling to remembrance by a solemn observance.^[5][2]
• before 1400 – a church service in memory of a saint or a sacred event.^[5]
• 1576 – mention, recital (obsolete by 1631).^[5]
• 1632 – a public memorial.^[5]
• 1750 – the annual Oxford celebration of founders and benefactors.^[5]
• 1823 – honourable mention.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of honouring and recalling the memory of a person or event: A plaque was unveiled in commemoration of the miners.^[3][11][5]
2. Something that commemorates a person or event, such as a ceremony, speech or statue.^[3][11][5]
3. (Christianity) A church service, or part of one, in memory of a saint or a sacred event.^[3][5][6]
4. At Oxford, an annual celebration in memory of the founders and benefactors of the university or a college.^[5][6]

Word family

• commemorational
• noncommemoration

Related words

• commemorate
• memory
• memorial
• remember
• memoir

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
8. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins