Commemorative

How to spell commemorative

13 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce commemorative

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does commemorative mean?

1. adjectiveIntended to honour or preserve the memory of a person, event, or achievement.
2. nounA stamp, coin, or similar item issued to mark a notable event or person.

Commemorative in a sentence

• adjective

  The council unveiled a commemorative plaque on the old mill wall.

• noun

  The collector paid a premium for a rare wartime commemorative.

• adjective

  The mint released a commemorative coin to mark the centenary.

• noun

  The post office sold out of the royal wedding commemorative within hours.

Where does commemorative come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb commemorare, meaning 'to call to mind' or 'to recount', which was built from the intensive prefix com- (together, thoroughly) and memorare 'to bring to remembrance'. That verb in turn rests on memor, an adjective meaning 'mindful' or 'remembering', the same root that gives us 'memory' and 'memorial'. English took the verb 'commemorate' from this Latin source in the late 1500s, and the adjective 'commemorative', describing something that honours or preserves a memory, followed soon after. The spelling trap lives in the middle: the doubled m of com- sits right next to the single m of memor, so writers must remember 'comm' then 'mem', a deceptively close pairing. Recalling that the word literally means being thoroughly mindful together helps fix that com-mem sequence.

How the word is built

• com- (together, intensive)
• memor (mindful, remembering)
• -ative (adjective/noun suffix)