in memoriam

English

WOTD – 11 September 2011, 11 September 2012, 11 September 2013, 11 September 2014

Etymology

From Latin in memoriam (“into memory”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ɪn məˈmɔɹ.i.əm/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪn məˈmɔː.ɹi.əm/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Adverb

in memoriam (not comparable)

1. In memory (of); as a memorial.
   • 2004, John P. Frayne and Madeleine Marchaterre, “Notes” to The Collected Works of W. B. Yeats, Volume IX: Early Articles and Reviews, Scribner, →ISBN, page 553:

     An Enchanted Castle, and Other Poems, 1893, p. 72, prefaces the poem with this line, which suggests that the poem was written “in memoriam”: “[C. L. P., OB. JULY 18, 1884.]”.

   • 2009, Zuzana Parusniková, review of David Miller’s Out of Error, in Zuzana Parusniková and Robert S. Cohen (editors), Rethinking Popper, Springer, →ISBN, page 417:

     The book can be divided into three main parts: chapters 1, 14 were written in memoriam; in the second part (chapters 2–7) Miller carries out a philosophical investigation of critical rationalism; the third part (chapters 8–13) […]

Usage notes

• Sometimes followed by a reference to the one being remembered: then, either a preposition is used (typically of) or in memoriam is followed directly by the reference (as in in memoriam: Christa McAuliffe or in memoriam Christa McAuliffe).

Translations

in memory of

• Armenian: ի հիշատակ (i hišatak)
• Catalan: en memòria de, en record de
• Czech: na památku f
• Dutch: ter gedachtenis, in memoriam
• Finnish: muistolle, muistoa kunnioittaen
• French: en souvenir de, in memoriam (fr)
• German: im Andenken (an), zum Gedächtnis (an or + genitive), zur Erinnerung (an or + genitive), im Gedenken (an); in memoriam or in Memoriam (+ genitive)
• Greek: εις μνήμην (eis mnímin)
• Latin: in memoriam (+ genitive)
• Old English: on ġemynd
• Polish: ku pamięci, in memoriam (pl)
• Portuguese: em memória (pt), in memoriam (pt)
• Russian: в па́мять (v pámjatʹ)
• Spanish: en memoria de, en recuerdo de
• Swedish: in memoriam (sv), till minne av
• Telugu: జ్ఞాపకార్థం (jñāpakārthaṁ)

Noun

in memoriam (plural in memoriams)

1. An announcement or composition etc. in memory of a deceased person.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /in me.mɔ.ʁjam/

Adverb

in memoriam

1. in memoriam

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin in memoriamubor.

Polish in memoriam

Unadapted borrowing from Latin in memoriam.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /in.mɛˈmɔ.rjam/
• Rhymes: -ɔrjam
• Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]

Adjective

in memoriam (not comparable, no derived adverb)

1. (literary) in memoriam

   Synonyms: ku pamięci, na pamiątkę

Adverb

in memoriam (not comparable)

1. (literary) in memoriam

   Synonyms: ku pamięci, na pamiątkę

Further reading

• “in memoriam”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[1] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “in memoriam”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[2] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin in memoriam.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩ meˈmɔ.ɾi.ɐ̃/ [ĩ meˈmɔ.ɾɪ.ɐ̃], (faster pronunciation) /ĩ meˈmɔ.ɾjɐ̃/

Adverb

in memoriam

1. in memoriam (in memory of)

Noun

in memoriam m

1. in memoriam (announcement or composition in the memory of a dead person)

Related terms

• memória

Further reading

• “A expressão latina ‘in memoriam’” in Ciberdúvidas da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese)
• “in memoriam”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “in memoriam”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “in memoriam”, in Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisboa: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, 2001–2026
• “in memoriam”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “in memoriam”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌim meˈmoɾjam/ [ˌĩm meˈmo.ɾjãm]
• Syllabification: in me‧mo‧riam

Adverb

in memoriam

1. in memoriam

   Synonyms: en memoria de, en recuerdo de

Further reading

• “in memoriam”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025