mnemonic
English
WOTD – 24 January 2023
Pronunciation
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The knuckles of two fists from left to right can be used as a mnemonic (noun sense 1) for the number of days in each month of the Gregorian calendar. Each knuckle represents a 31-day month, while a space between knuckles represents a 30-day (or, in the case of February, 28- or 29-day) month.
- (Received Pronunciation, General Australian) IPA(key): /nɪˈmɒnɪk/, /nə-/
- (General American) IPA(key): /nəˈmɑnɪk/, /ni-/
Audio (GA) (file) - Homophone: pneumonic (one pronunciation)
- Rhymes: -ɒnɪk
- Hyphenation: mne‧mon‧ic
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Late Latin mnemonicus or its etymon Ancient Greek μνημονῐκός (mnēmonikós, “pertaining to memory or remembrance, memorial”) + English -ic (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Mνημονῐκός (Mnēmonikós) is derived from μνήμων (mnḗmōn, “mindful, remembering”) + -ῐκός (-ikós, suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives); while mνήμων (mnḗmōn) is from μνάομαι (mnáomai, “to be mindful, remember”) (from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to mind; to think”)) + -μων (-mōn, suffix forming adjectives and agent nouns).[1]
cognates
- French mnémonique (adjective)
- German mnemonisch
- Italian mnemonico
- Portuguese mnemónica
Adjective
mnemonic (not comparable)
- Especially of a series of ideas, letters, words, etc.: intended to help in remembering.
- Synonyms: anamnestic, (archaic) memorial, (archaic) mnemonical
- Antonym: antimnemonic
- Of or relating to mnemonics (“the study of techniques for remembering anything more easily”).
- Of or relating to memory.
- Synonym: mnestic
Alternative forms
- mnemonick (obsolete, rare)
Derived terms
- anamonic
- antimnemonic
- metamnemonic
- mnemonician
- mnemonist
- mnemonize
- promnemonic
Related terms
- anamnestic
- mneme
- mnemenic
- mnemic
- mnemon
- mnemonical
- mnemonicalist (obsolete, rare)
- mnemonically
- mnemonicon
- Mnemosyne
- mnemotechnic
- mnemotechnical
- mnemotechnically
- mnemotechnist
- mnemotechny
- mnestic
Translations
especially of a series of ideas, letters, words, etc.: intended to help in remembering
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of or relating to mnemonics
|
of or relating to memory
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Etymology 2
Noun sense 1 (“something used to help in remembering a thing”) is borrowed from Latin mnēmonicum (“something used to help in remembering a thing”), from Ancient Greek μνημονικόν (mnēmonikón, “something used to help in remembering a thing”), a noun use of the neuter form of μνημονῐκός (mnēmonikós, adjective): see etymology 1. Noun sense 3 (“synonym of mnemonics”) is borrowed from Late Latin mnemonica, a noun use of the feminine form of mnemonicus: see etymology 1.[1]
cognates
- French mnémonique (noun)
- German Mnemonik
- Italian mnemonica
- Portuguese mnemónico
Noun
mnemonic (plural mnemonics)
| Examples |
|---|
“Richard of York gave battle in vain” and “Roy G. Biv” are mnemonics to aid in remembering the colours of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. |
- Something (especially a series of ideas, letters, words, etc.) used to help in remembering a thing; a memory aid.
- Synonyms: aide-mémoire, (rare) mnemonicon
- 2003, Alex Kimbell, chapter 3, in The Unbridgeable Divide: A Love Story, Market Harborough, Leicestershire: Matador, →ISBN, section I, page 54:
- Mr Avery was a great believer in mnemonics; he had one for every possible aspect of flying – which was as good a way as any for student pilots to familiarise themselves with their new environment, but unless used on a daily basis could also be dangerous, for there were so many of them.
- (computing) The human-readable, textual form of an assembly language instruction, not including operands.
- (obsolete) Synonym of mnemonics (“the study of techniques for remembering anything more easily”)
Hyponyms
- anamonic
- memory palace
- mimetic
Derived terms
- mnemonics
- neuro-mnemonic
Translations
something used to help in remembering a thing
|
human-readable, textual form of an assembly language instruction, not including operands
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See also
- crib (“collection of quotes or references for use in speaking, for assembling a written document, or as an aid to a project of some sort”)
References
- “mnemonic, n. and adj.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022; “mnemonic, n. and adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Further reading
mnemonic on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - mnemonic in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
- Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “mnemonic”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.