mémoriser

Forms

mémoriser^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French mémoire + -iser, on the stem of Latin memoria (“memory”).^[2][3][1] Bloch and Wartburg call it a learned derivative of the Latin noun.^[4] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert date the word from 1907 and derive it from mémorisation;^[5][6] the GLLF keeps the late-15th-century use “to remind” apart and dates the modern verb from A. Binet, 1907.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded once, in the prologue of the 1488 edition of Lancelot du Lac, meaning “to call to mind”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

After that isolated record, the teachers of French-speaking Switzerland took the verb up in the 18th century in the sense “to learn by heart, fix in one's memory”.^[2][3] In France A. Binet used it in this sense in 1907.^[7][4]

In line with the meaning taken by mémoire in computing, it came to mean “to record data” in 1965.^[2][3] The noun mémorisation, also found once in 1488, was revived in French-speaking Switzerland in 1789 and entered computing in 1964.^[3]

Timeline

• 1488 – An isolated use meaning “to call to mind”, in Lancelot du Lac.^[2][3]
• 18th century – Swiss Romand teachers use it for “to learn by heart”.^[2][3]
• 1789 – Mémorisation is revived in French-speaking Switzerland.^[3]
• 1907 – A. Binet uses it in the sense “to fix in the memory”.^[7][4]
• 1965 – First applied to machines storing data.^[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To memorize, to fix in one's memory: J'ai mémorisé son numéro de téléphone.^[6][2][1]
2. (computing) To store data in a computer's memory.^[6][2][7]

Word family

• mémorisation

Related words

• mémoire
• Latin memoria

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse