memory meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

memory

noun

US, UK /ˈmɛm.ə.ɹi/ · /ˈmɪm.ə.ɹi/

Etymology From Anglo-Norman memorie, Old French memoire etc., from Latin memoria (“the faculty of remembering, remembrance, memory, a historical account”), from memor (“mindful, remembering”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (to remember), related to Ancient Greek μνήμη (mnḗmē, “memory”) μέρμερος (mérmeros, “anxious”), μέριμνα (mérimna, “care, thought”), Old English ġemimor (“mindful, remembering”). More at mimmer. Doublet of memoir and memoria. Displaced native Old English myne (whence English min) and Old English ġemynd, which took on a different meaning as modern mind.

8 senses

1The ability of the brain to record information or…
2A record of a thing or an event stored and available for…
3The part of a computer that stores variable executable…
4The time within which past events can be or are remembered.
5Of a material, which returns to its original shape when heated.
6A memorial.
7Synonym of pelmanism (“memory card game”).
8A term of venery for a social group of elephants…

The ability of the brain to record information or impressions with the facility of recalling them later, usually at will.

Memory is a facility common to all animals.
And they say goldfish have no memory. I guess their lives are much like mine. And the little plastic castle is a surprise every time.1998, “Little Plastic Castle”, in Little Plastic Castle, performed by Ani DiFranco:

A record of a thing or an event stored and available for later use by an organism.

I have no memory of that event.
My wedding is one of my happiest memories.

2 more examples

Sam and his friends will never forget the happy memories of the field trip to France.
I know I can't hide from my memory / Though day after day I've tried / I keep sayin', she'll be back / But today again I've lied1971, Chi-Lites, “Have You Seen Her”, in (For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People:

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences The part of a computer that stores variable executable code or data (RAM) or unalterable executable code or default data (ROM).

This data passes from the CPU to the memory.
My first microcomputer had 12K of memory. When I expanded to a full 64K, I thought I had all the memory I'd ever need. Hah. I know better now.1987 July 27, Jerry Pournelle, “Law of Expanding Memory: Applications Will Also Expand Until RAM Is Full”, in InfoWorld, volume 9, number 30, InfoWorld Media Group Inc, page 46:

The time within which past events can be or are remembered.

in recent memory
in living memory

Of a material, which returns to its original shape when heated.

memory metal
memory plastic

Obsolete A memorial.

These weeds are memories of those worser hours.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vii]:

Synonym of pelmanism (“memory card game”).

After he saw her a few more times, Mr. Cherkasky asked Ms. Cochrane out on a date in May 2008 to Central Park. He brought along some games to break the ice, and Ms. Cochrane brought cupcakes. They found a quiet place to sit and played Memory and Yahtzee, both of which were new to Ms. Cochrane.2010 July 30, Paula Schwartz, “Lyndsea Cochrane and Ethan Cherkasky”, in The New York Times:
One example of that would be a memory game that I originally worked on with a friend of mine at Ovrflo Media some time ago. If you aren't familiar with the game of memory, it's a matching game where you are presented with several cards in the facedown position.2010, Jason Fincanon, “Advergaming and Applications”, in Flash Advertising: Flash Platform Development of Microsites, Advergames and Branded Applications, Burlington, MA: Focal Press, →ISBN, page 183:

Biology, Natural sciences, Zoology Collective, Rare A term of venery for a social group of elephants, normally called a herd.

Synonyms: memory, recall, recollection, rememoration, reminiscence
Antonyms: blank
Derived terms: 147 terms
as memory serves, base memory, battery memory, bubble memory, buddy memory allocation, childhood memory, collective memory, commit to memory, constructive memory, conventional memory, core memory, damnation of memory, declarative memory, DIP memory, dynamic memory, dynamic memory allocation, dynamic random access memory, echoic memory, EDO memory, eidetic memory, episodic memory, expanded memory, extended memory, extinction memory, false memory, false memory syndrome, false-memory syndrome, ferrite core memory, flashbulb memory, flash memory, folk memory, forgettery, genetic memory, have a short memory, highly superior autobiographical memory, high memory area, if memory serves, in living memory, in memory of, in recent memory, institutional memory, jog someone's memory, living memory, long memory, long-term memory, magnetic core memory, main memory, memcapacitance, memcapacitor, memex, memoried, memorist, memory balloon, memory ballooning, memory barrier, memory B cell, memory box, memory café, memory care, memory cartridge, memory cell, memory chip, memorycide, memory core, memory distrust syndrome, memory drive, memory dump, memory effect, memory enhancer, memory frame, memoryful, memory-hole, memory hole, memory-holing, memory institution, memory jogger, memory journey, memory leak, memoryless, memory like a sieve, memory metal, memory of a goldfish, memory page, memory palace, memory quilt, memory root, memory-safe, memory safety, memory span, memory stick, memory T cell, memory typewriter, memory unit, memory-unsafe, memristor, metamemory, motor memory, multimemory, muscle memory, nonmemory, non-volatile memory, non-volatile random access memory, of blessed memory, photographic memory, physical memory protection, postmemory, primary memory, procedural memory, programmable read only memory, programmable read-only memory, pseudomemory, race memory, racial memory, random access memory, random-access memory, read-only memory, read only memory, recent memory, recovered memory, refresh someone's memory, resistive random access memory, retrospective memory, screen memory, secondary memory, selective memory, semantic memory, semiconductor memory, sensory memory, shadow memory, shape memory alloy, short-term memory, static memory allocation, static random access memory, superior autobiographical memory, thermomemory, time-memory trade-off, time of memory, transactional memory, translation memory, upper memory area, virtual memory, volatile memory, water memory, within living memory, working memory, write-only memory, in-memory
Related terms: memo, memoir, memorabilia, memorable, memorandum, memorate, memorial, memorise, memorize, memory bank, memory card, memory foam, memory lane, memory-ridden, remember, mnemonics
Hypernyms: record
Hyponyms: flashback