memorabilia

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin memorābilia (“things to be remembered”); its use as noun is after Ancient Greek ἀπομνημονεύματα (apomnēmoneúmata) of the neuter plural of memorābilis (“memorable”). Its English use is perhaps after the Latin title Memorabilia of Xenophon’s collection of Socratic dialogues.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌmɛm(ə)ɹəˈbɪlɪə/, /ˌmɛm(ə)ɹəˈbiːlɪə/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌmɛm(ə)ɹəˈbɪlɪə/, /ˌmɛm(ə)ɹəˈbilɪə/

  • Audio (General American):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌmem(ə)ɹəˈbɪlɪə/, /ˌmem(ə)ɹəˈbiːlɪə/

Noun

memorabilia pl (normally plural, singular (rare) memorabile)

1. (originally US) Objects that are connected to or remind their owner of past events. [from 1855]

   Synonyms: mementos, souvenirs, keepsakes

   George has a collection of World War II memorabilia.

   • 1981, “Memorabilia”, in Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, performed by Soft Cell:

     I can't remember / Give me a reminder / I collect, I reject / Memorabilia / Memorabilia

   • 2012, Donald Fagen, “Memorabilia”, in Sunken Condos:

     Have you seen the memorabilia / The rusty old memorabilia / The souvenirs of perfect doom / In the back of Louis Dakine's backroom

2. (now rare) Things worth remembering: noteworthy points. [from 1785]
   • 1785, James Boswell, “To James Boswell, Esq.”, in The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, with Samuel Johnson, LL.D. […], London: […] Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, […], →OCLC, page 522:

     On the other hand, how uſeful is ſuch a faculty, if well exerciſed! To it we owe all thoſe intereſting apothegms and memorabilia of the ancients, which Plutarch, Xenophon, and Valerius Maximus, have tranſmitted to us.

Derived terms

• commemorabilia
• Negrobilia

Translations

objects that are connected to past events

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 紀念品 / 纪念品 (zh) (jìniànpǐn)

• Faroese: minnislutir m pl
• Finnish: muistoesineet, muistot
• French: objets de collection, souvenirs (fr)
• German: Memorabilien f pl, Erinnerungsstücke (de) n pl
• Hungarian: relikvia (hu)
• Japanese: 記念品 (ja) (きねんひん, kinenhin)

Latin

Adjective

memorābilia

1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural of memorābilis

References

• “memorabilia”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Spanish

Noun

memorabilia f (plural memorabilias)

1. memorabilia