remembrance
UK[rɪˈmembrəns]US[rɪˈmembrəns]
n
The act of remembering and showing respect for someone who has died or something in the past.
n
A memory or souvenir of someone or something.
Morpheme Breakdown
re
member
ance
re
again
member
to remember
ance
noun suffix
Etymology
The word 'remembrance' is built upon the core Latin verb memorari ("to bring to mind"), which itself derives from memor ("mindful"). The prefix re-, meaning "again", intensifies the action, suggesting a repeated or deliberate act of recalling. The suffix -ance transforms the verbal action into a noun denoting the state or process. Thus, the literal construction "the state of bringing to mind again" elegantly captures the modern abstract meanings of both the act of remembering and the object that serves as a memory.
Analysis
Structure: re (again) + member (to remember) + ance (noun suffix)
- re: A Latin prefix meaning "again" or "back".
- member: From the Latin root memor-, meaning "mindful" or "remembering". In English, it appears as a verb stem.
- ance: A noun-forming suffix of Latin origin (-antia) indicating an action, state, or quality.
Examples
A minute's silence was held in remembrance of the fallen soldiers.
She kept the locket as a remembrance of her grandmother.
The monument stands in solemn remembrance of a great tragedy.