memoria

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [mɛˈmɔ.ri.a]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [meˈmɔː.ri.a]^[1]

Forms

memoria f (genitive memoriae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin memor (“mindful”) + -ia.^[2][3][1] Wiktionary derives memor from a reduplicated form of Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to remember”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Plautus, whose character asks to be helped when his memory fails.^[4][2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant the faculty of remembering, memory, as Cicero's praise of Hortensius' great memory, and memoriā tenēre “to remember”.^[2][5] It meant the act of remembering, remembrance, and what is remembered, a recollection.^[2]

In Christian and Medieval Latin it meant commemoration in prayer, a mass for the dead, a martyr's shrine, and a written record or document.^[6][7][8] It survives in Italian and Spanish memoria and French mémoire.^[1] English memory came from it in the late 13th century, and English memoir in the early 15th.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a failing memory.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero praises Hortensius' memory.^[5][4]
• late 13th century – English memory is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Memory, the faculty of remembering.^[2]
2. Remembrance.^[2]
3. A recollection.^[2]
4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Commemoration; a mass for the dead.^[6]
5. (Medieval Latin) A written record.^[7][8]

Word family

• memoralis
• memoriālis
• memoriola
• memoriōsus
• memorō

Related words

• memor
• memorābilis
• memorātor
• memoriter
• meminī
• English memory
• English memoir

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com