mnemonic

Pronunciation

• IPA: /nɪˈmɒnɪk/ (UK); /nəˈmɑnɪk/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is either a back-formation from mnemonics^[2][3] or borrowed from Ancient Greek μνημονικός (mnēmonikós, “of or relating to memory”),^{[4][2][3][5][6]} from mnḗmōn (stem mnēmon-) “mindful, remembering”.^{[4][2][3][5][6]} This goes back to the verb mnásthai “to remember”,^[2][3] ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”).^[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Intended to aid the memory.^[3][7][5]

Semantic evolution

The broader sense “of or relating to memory” followed in 1825,^[3][7] and the noun, a device such as a rhyme or formula that helps the memory, dates from 1858.^[3][5] In computing it also names an easily remembered code for a machine instruction.^[6][1]

Timeline

• 1660s – mnemonical.^[3]
• 1721 – mnemonics.^[2]
• 1753 – adjective, aiding the memory.^[7][5][2][3]
• 1825 – of or relating to memory.^[3][7]
• 1858 – noun.^[3][5][7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Assisting or intended to assist the memory.
2. Of or relating to memory or mnemonics.

Noun

1. A device, such as a rhyme or formula, used to help remember something.
2. (computing) An easily remembered code for an instruction, such as STO for “store”.

Word family

• mnemonically
• mnemonics

Related words

• anamnestic
• mneme
• Mnemosyne

References

1. [1] [2] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. [1] [2] [3] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. [1] [2] [3] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press