memory English · revision 3105

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1250|origins=la memoria}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmem.ᵊr.i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|memorie]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|xno|memorie]], Old French memoire,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and directly from [[la|memoria|t=memory, remembrance, faculty of remembering]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|memor|t=mindful, remembering]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*(s)mer-|t=to remember]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to Greek mérimna “care, thought”, Sanskrit smárati “he remembers” and Old English gemimor “known”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The same Latin word came into English again through French as [[memoir]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Remembrance, renown: about 1250 in Barnhart^(Barnhart 1988) and the late 13th century in Etymonline, as “recollection of someone; fame, reputation”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Commemoration is from about 1300.^(Etymonline) The faculty of remembering is from 1340 in the OED^(OED 1989) and about 1380, in Chaucer, in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) The ''art of memory'', mnemonics, is from 1491.^(OED 1989) The length of time a person can remember is from the 1520s.^(Etymonline) Something remembered, a recollection, is from 1817,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) though its correctness was once disputed.^(Etymonline) In physics, the capacity of a substance to show the effects of its past states is from 1887,^(OED 1989) and in computing a device for storing data is first recorded in 1946.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) ''Memorize'' first meant “to commemorate in writing”, in Spenser (1591), and “to commit to memory” from 1838 in American English.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1250 – remembrance, renown.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – commemoration.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1340 – the faculty of remembering.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1520s – the span of remembrance.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1591 – ''memorize''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1817 – a recollection.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1887 – in physics.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1946 – computer memory.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The power of the [[mind]] to keep and recall past experience.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something remembered; a [[recollection]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Remembrance: ''in memory of''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The length of time a person can remember: ''within living memory''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(computing)'' The part of a [[computer]] that stores data, or its capacity.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[memoried]]

+ * [[memorist]]

+ * [[bubble memory]]

+ * [[core memory]]

+ * [[false-memory syndrome]]

+ * [[flash memory]]

+ * [[long-term memory]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[memo]]

+ * [[memoir]]

+ * [[memorabilia]]

+ * [[memorable]]

+ * [[memorandum]]

+ * [[memorial]]

+ * [[memorise]]

+ * [[memorize]]

+ * [[memory bank]]

+ * [[memory lane]]

+ * [[remember]]

+ * [[commemorate]]

+ * [[memento]]

+ * [[mourn]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Memory'' is the faculty of keeping and reviving past impressions, while ''remembrance'' is the act of remembering, ''recollection'' a deliberate effort to remember, and ''reminiscence'' the recalling of long-past experiences.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}