Commemorating

How to spell commemorating

13 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce commemorating

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does commemorating mean?

1. verbHonouring or marking the memory of a person or event, often with a ceremony, monument, or special observance.

Commemorating in a sentence

• The city is commemorating the anniversary of the bridge with a public exhibition.

• The plaque commemorating the fallen soldiers was unveiled this morning.

Where does commemorating come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb commemorare, which meant 'to call to mind' or 'to bring to remembrance'. It was built from the intensifying prefix com-, here adding force, and memor, an adjective meaning 'mindful' or 'remembering', the same root that gives us 'memory' and 'memorial'. The literal sense was therefore to be thoroughly mindful of something, to keep it fully in mind. English adopted 'commemorate' in the late 1500s, and from the start it carried the idea of marking or honouring a person or event so it would not be forgotten. The double m in the middle is the classic spelling trap: it comes from com- meeting the m of memor, so two separate sources stack up two m letters, while the single m of -memor- follows. Keeping the family link to 'memory' in mind helps fix where each m belongs.

How the word is built

• com- (intensive, fully)
• memor (mindful, from memor 'mindful, remembering')
• -ate (verb suffix)
• -ing (present participle)