mnemonic
1 of 2adjective
mnemonic
2 of 2noun
Did you know?
The word mnemonic derives from the Greek mnēmōn ("mindful"), which itself comes from the verb mimnēskesthai, meaning "to remember." (In classical mythology, Mnemosyne, the mother of the Muses, is the goddess of memory.) In addition to its adjectival use, mnemonic is also a noun meaning "a mnemonic device," and the plural form mnemonics is used in the sense of "a technique of improving the memory." As with many classical borrowings, we retained the double initial consonant, but not the pronunciation of both, since the combination doesn't occur naturally in English (pneumonia is a similar case). If this spelling strikes you as particularly fiendish to remember, keep this mnemonic in mind: although the word's pronunciation begins with an n sound, the spelling begins with an m, as in memory.
Example Sentences
Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 12 Sep. 2022 The teaser uses music as both a source of emotional connection and as a mnemonic device. Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 26 July 2022 An easy way to remember migraine prevention techniques is through the mnemonic device SEEDS. Carly Vandergriendt, SELF, 19 May 2022 Its name is a mnemonic identify threats based on the following categories: Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information disclosure, Denial of service and Elevation of privilege. Barbara Cosgriff, Forbes, 6 May 2022 Restoring Indigenous place names restores mnemonic and spiritual connections among place, culture and ancestral knowledge. Bonnie Mcgill, Scientific American, 22 Apr. 2022 Utilizing a mnemonic learning device in her Earth Science course, Lusby-Brown incorporated visual, auditory and interactive components to teach her students about the different celestial bodies of the solar system. C.r. Walker, chicagotribune.com, 28 Feb. 2022 The strongest effect that the family has on Leda is mnemonic: seeing young mothers with young daughters sparks remembrances of her own earlier years, nearly two decades ago, when her two daughters (now in their twenties) were small children. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2022 Use mnemonic devices to aid in the active recall for easy application of the new mental models. Jedidiah Alex Koh, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2021 New York Times, 12 May 2022 Not only was the whine agitating—EHHNNNNNNNN—but its constant drone was like a cruel mnemonic for everything that bothered him. Bianca Bosker, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2019 The mnemonic that emergency room doctors use to quickly evaluate patients is A.B.C. — airway, breathing, circulation. New York Times, 9 Aug. 2019 This mnemonic may unwittingly exploit the fact that the hippocampus encodes both location information and autobiographical memories. Quanta Magazine, 7 Oct. 2014 Another hint that websites can offer is what Dr. Juang calls a visual mnemonic—a simple drawing that suggests to the user what their passphrase is. Henry Williams, WSJ, 18 Sep. 2018 Which seems to me like the ultimate takeaway: Google doesn't need to engineer mnemonics into its 2FA codes. Robbie Gonzalez, WIRED, 21 Apr. 2018 Earl helped her fellow students break down the biological processes into mnemonics that would help them remember. Karen Herzog, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 16 Jan. 2018 But Bai/bye is a nifty mnemonic, deftly associating the brand’s name with a memorable tune. Seth Stevenson, Slate Magazine, 6 Feb. 2017 See More Word History
Adjective and Noun
Greek mnēmonikos, from mnēmōn mindful, from mimnēskesthai to remember — more at mind
Adjective
1672, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
1842, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
mnemonic 1 of 2
adjective
mnemonic
2 of 2