Memories

How to spell memories

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce memories

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does memories mean?

1. nounThings remembered from the past; recollections held in the mind.

Memories in a sentence

• The old photographs brought back happy memories of their wedding.

• She shared her memories of working in the factory during the war.

Where does memories come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the plural of memory, which English took from the Old French word memorie in the fourteenth century. That French form descended from the Latin memoria, meaning 'remembrance' or 'the faculty of recalling', built on the adjective memor, which literally meant 'mindful' or 'remembering'. The same Latin root branches out into a whole family of familiar English words, including memorial, memorandum, and the verb memorise, all sharing the idea of holding something in the mind. The spelling trap in the plural comes from the rule that turns a final y into i before adding -es, so 'memory' becomes 'memories' rather than the tempting 'memorys'. Knowing the singular ends in -ory helps anchor the doubled vowel pattern when the plural is written out.

How the word is built

• memor- (from Latin memor: mindful)
• -y (noun suffix)
• -es (plural, with y to i change)