Etymologically
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memini

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈmɛ.mɪ.niː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmɛː.mi.ni][1]

Forms

meminī (present infinitive meminisse); third conjugation, no present stem, perfect forms have present meaning, no supine stem[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *memon-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *me-món- (“has in mind”), the reduplicated perfect of the root *men- “to think”.[2][1] The imperative mementō continues *me-mn-tōd.[2] Cognate with Ancient Greek μέμονα (mémona, “I intend”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌽 (man, “I think”) and Sanskrit मन्यते (mányate, “thinks”).[3][4] mēns “mind” and moneō “to remind” belong to the same root.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Naevius.[2] In Plautus someone asks “do you remember your parents' names?”.[3] Köbler dates Naevius c. 235–200 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It is a perfect with present meaning, “I have in mind”, and it meant to remember a fact, to remember from experience something seen or heard, and to be mindful of or attend to something.[3] With the genitive it also meant to mention, as in Caesar.[6] It takes the genitive or the accusative, and its imperative is mementō “remember!”.[6][2]

Mementō entered English in the late 14th century as the name of a prayer of the Mass, from its first word, and later gave English memento “a keepsake”.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.[2][5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus asks whether someone remembers his parents' names.[3][5]
  • late 14th century – English memento is recorded for a prayer of the Mass.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To remember, keep in mind.[3]
  2. To remember (from experience).[3]
  3. To be mindful of, attend to.[3]
  4. To mention.[6]

Word family

  • commeminī
  • rememinī
  • mentiō

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes meminisse, remembering as a state of mind, never having forgotten, from reminīscī and recordārī, calling back to mind what had been forgotten.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper