mem meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

mem

noun

/mɛm/

Etymology From Phoenician 𐤌𐤌 (mm /⁠mem⁠/, “water”), from Proto-Semitic *maʾ- (“*maʾ-/*may-”). Doublet of mu.

The thirteenth letter of many Semitic alphabets/abjads (Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and others).

noun

Etymology Clipping of memory.

Abbreviation, Clipping, Slang Clipping of memory.

We can't BELIEVE it's been #9YearsofLittleMix?! Aside from the girls slaying every #BRITs look they've had, what's your fave mem? (we know it's a hard q!) 👀💖2020 August 19, @BRITs, Twitter:
6. Throw Away the Mems [section title] ¶ Now that you’ve got some theme music, it’s time to take that old teddy bear and V-Day card and toss ‘em in the dumpster.2023 October 23, Rachel Varina, “How to Get Over a Breakup So You Can *Actually* Move On and Heal”, in Cosmopolitan:

1 more example

[Ashley] Palmer-Gilkey responded in the comments, “love you 🤍 cheers to more laughs, more trips, more skinny margs, more mems 💕.”2026 April 28, Carson Blackwelder, “How unlikely couple Dr. Dre and ‘The Valley’ star Michelle Saniei crossed paths”, in Page Six:

Computing, Computing theory, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences A memory access as part of processing.

noun

Etymology From Hindi मेम (mem, “wife of a colonial official; a white woman”), originally from English ma'am.

South Asia, Historical A white European woman, especially the wife of an official; a memsahib.

With their husbands out all day, the mems had almost nothing to do, unless they were among the few prepared to interest themselves in local charities or community work.2009, Selina Hastings, The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham, John Murray, published 2010, page 277:

India, Alternative Alternative form of ma'am.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.