remember

verb — 9 senses

remember

verb

UK /ɹɪˈmɛmbə/ · US /ɹɪˈmɛmbɚ/

Etymology

From Middle English remembren, from Old French remembrer (“to remember”), from Late Latin rememorari (“to remember again”), from re- + memor (“mindful”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer-, *(s)mer- (“to think about, be mindful, remember”). Cognate with Old English mimorian, mymerian (“to remember, commemorate”), Old English māmorian (“to deliberate, plan out, design”). More at mimmer and mammer. Compare also dialectical English umbethink. etymology note The success of the Old French word was helped by its proximity in sound and meaning to an existing Germanic word: Old English mimorian, mymerian (“to remember, commemorate”) from Proto-Germanic *mimrōną, *mīmrōną (“to remember, be mindful”), from the same Indo-European source, and is akin to Saterland Frisian miemerje (“to ponder, reflect”), Middle Low German mimeren (“to ponder, meditate”), Middle Dutch mimeren (“to reflect, think to oneself”) (Dutch mijmeren (“to muse, reflect deeply”)), Old English ġemimor (“mindful”), Old Norse Mímir, Mim (“Norse god of memory”), Old English māmrian (“to think out, design”). Related to mourn. Displaced native Middle English ȝemuneȝen (“to remember”), from Old English ġemynegian (“to remember, remind”); Middle English minnen (“to remember, have in mind”), from Old Norse minna (“to remind”); Middle English munden, ȝemunden (“to bear in mind, remember”), from Old English ġemynd (“memory, remembrance”); Middle English ithenchen, ȝethenchen (“to think on, remember”), from Old English ġeþencan; Middle English manien (“to remind, mention, remember”), from Old English manian (“to admonish, remind, mention”).

9 senses
  1. 1To recall from one's memory; to have an image in one's memory.
  2. 2To memorize; to put something into memory.
  3. 3To keep in mind; to be mindful of.
  4. 4To not forget (to do something required)
  5. 5To convey greetings from.
  6. 6To put in mind; to remind (also used reflexively).
  7. 7To engage in the process of recalling memories.
  8. 8To give (a person) money as a token of appreciation of…
  9. 9To commemorate, to have a remembrance ceremony.
1

To recall from one's memory; to have an image in one's memory.

  • In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, “The Tutor's Daughter”, in Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion, page 266:
  • […] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
4 more examples
  • A man's vision reflects his memories. As I looked out on the nation from the President's Oval Office, my reflections included images burned deep in my mind for over a half a century. I remembered my father's concern for the tenant farmer and for the workers' need for collective bargaining. I remembered my mother's deep faith in the value of education. I remembered the pinched and hopeless look of poverty I saw on the faces of the Mexican-American children I had taught. I remembered the army of jobless and ragged men who rode grimy boxcars across our country during the Depression. These and a hundred other separate recollections of struggle and hope were all part of my heritage. They formed a portion of the background against which I developed the programs I felt America wanted and needed.1971, Lyndon Johnson, The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 104:
  • Spencer remembers the session as being 'as boring as beans'. A handful of copies of the record were pressed with the catalogue number Philles 111, and copies sent to both Sill and Finfer.2012, Mick Brown, Tearing Down The Wall of Sound: The Rise And Fall of Phil Spector:
  • […] take the Ginger Line overground from Canada Water to Penge West. So you'll be getting off the Tube, and taking the train. I know you're American, but can you remember that?2015, Orren Merton, The Dawning of Firebird Alex:
  • Remember me? I live in your building.2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
2

To memorize; to put something into memory.

  • Please remember this formula!
3

To keep in mind; to be mindful of.

  • Remember what I've said.
4

To not forget (to do something required)

  • Remember to lock the door when you go out.
5

To convey greetings from.

  • Please remember me to your brother.
  • She asks to be remembered to you all.
1 more example
  • Emil. Thanckes Sir; Remember me To our all royall Brother, for whose speede The great Bellona ile sollicite; and […]1613–1614 (date written), John Fletcher, William Shak[e]speare, The Two Noble Kinsmen: […], London: […] Tho[mas] Cotes, for Iohn Waterson; […], published 1634, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 3:
6

Obsolete To put in mind; to remind (also used reflexively).

  • Since thou dost give me pains, / Let me remember thee what thou hast promis'd, / Which is not yet perform'd me.1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
  • My friends remember'd me of home.1614–1615, Homer, “(please specify the book number)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615, →OCLC; republished in The Odysseys of Homer, […], volume (please specify the book number), London: John Russell Smith, […], 1857, →OCLC:
1 more example
  • But soon, remembering her how brief the whole Of joy, which its own hours annihilate, Her set gaze gathered1870, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Secret Parting, lines 5–7:
7

To engage in the process of recalling memories.

  • You don't have to remind him; he remembers very well.
8

To give (a person) money as a token of appreciation of past service or friendship.

  • My aunt remembered me in her will, leaving me several thousand pounds.
  • Waitresses, mail carriers, and teachers were often remembered on Boxing Day.2003, Little Visits 365 Family Devotions: Building Faith for a Lifetime, Concordia Publishing House:
9

To commemorate, to have a remembrance ceremony.

  • Today we remember and honour those who have served.
Synonyms
recall, reminisce, retrieve, bear in mind, bethink, keep in mind, mind, recollect, remember, think back, umbethink
Antonyms
forget, remind, shut the door on
Derived terms
disremember, for as long as one can remember, foreremembered, half-remember, I can't remember the last time, misremember, Pepperidge Farm remembers, recomember, rememberability, rememberable, rememberer, rememberingly, rememberize, remember like it was yesterday, remembersome, remembrance, reremember, unremember, unremembered, unremembering
Related terms
recollect, recollection, remind, bring back, ponder, regret, take back, slip someone's mind, memory
Hyponyms
look back, place, rack one's brain, reminisce, misrecollect, misremember

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

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