Memoirs

How to spell memoirs

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce memoirs

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does memoirs mean?

1. nounA written account of a person's own life and experiences, usually focused on a particular period or theme.

Memoirs in a sentence

• The retired general spent three years writing his memoirs.

• Her memoirs recount the difficult years she spent working abroad.

Where does memoirs come from?

Language of origin: French

This word travelled into English from the French mémoire, which itself descends from the Latin memoria, meaning 'memory' or 'a record of things remembered', built on the adjective memor, 'mindful' or 'remembering'. In French, mémoire could mean both a person's memory and a written note or report, and English borrowed it in the 1500s in that documentary sense, often for an official record or scholarly paper. By the 1600s the plural form 'memoirs' had settled into its modern meaning: a personal account of events the writer has lived through. Notice that the French spelling is preserved almost intact, which is why the silent stretch 'oir' trips people up; it follows the French pattern, not the English 'memory' it is related to. The same memoria root also gives us 'memorial', 'memorise', and 'commemorate', all anchored in the idea of holding something in mind.

How the word is built

• memoir (from French mémoire: memory, written record)
• -s (plural)