Etymology and origin of the Latin word memoror
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- after 220 AD, Itala
- Ultimate origin
- Latin memorō
From the same root
Forms
memoror (present infinitive memorārī, perfect active memorātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1]
Etymology
It is from Latin memorō (“to mention, recall”), used as a deponent.[1][2] The active verb is formed from memor (“mindful”), which de Vaan derives from a reduplicated ⟨*me-mn-os-⟩, the root of meminī.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is a word of Christian Latin.[4] Conte's earliest examples are from the Itala, the early Latin Bible, as in “remember your sons”.[5]
Semantic evolution
The Vulgate uses it for remembering or being mindful of something, with the genitive, the accusative or de and the ablative,[2][4] and it also occurs in an inscription and in Ambrose.[2] Lucifer of Cagliari construes it with an accusative and infinitive.[5]
Medieval writers used the deponent also in the sense of the active memorō, to mention or relate: ut supra memoravimus, “as we mentioned above”.[6]
Timeline
- after 220 AD – The Itala uses it for remembering.[5][7]
- 355–361 AD – Lucifer of Cagliari construes it with an accusative and infinitive.[5][7]
- 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it with the genitive, accusative and de.[2][4][7]
- 2nd quarter of the 9th century – Walahfrid Strabo uses it for recounting powers, kinds and names.[6][7]
Meanings
Verb
- (Ecclesiastical Latin) To remember, be mindful of.[4][2][5]
- (Medieval Latin) To mention, relate, tell.[6]
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
- ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Derived terms
Cite this entry
“Memoror.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/memoror. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.
Last edited on . ·