Memorabilia

How to spell memorabilia

11 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce memorabilia

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does memorabilia mean?

1. nounObjects kept or collected because of their connection to memorable people, places, or events.

Memorabilia in a sentence

• The auction house sold a vast collection of football memorabilia to eager fans.

• His attic was crammed with concert tickets, posters, and other memorabilia.

Where does memorabilia come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is the Latin memorabilia, the neuter plural of the adjective memorabilis, which meant 'worthy of being remembered'. That adjective was built on the verb memorare, 'to bring to mind' or 'to recount', which in turn rests on memor, meaning 'mindful' or 'remembering'. So at its heart the word literally labels 'things worth remembering', and English originally used it for noteworthy facts or events worth recording before it settled into its modern sense of collected keepsakes and objects valued for their associations. English adopted it directly from Latin in the early nineteenth century, keeping the full Latin plural ending intact, which is why it ends in -ia rather than a plain -s. The same memor root sits behind the more familiar words 'memory', 'memorable' and 'memorial', a family resemblance that can help fix the tricky middle of the spelling, since it is essentially 'memor' plus 'abil' plus 'ia'.

How the word is built

• memor- (from memor: mindful, remembering)
• -abil- (-able: worthy of)
• -ia (Latin neuter plural noun ending)