reminiscence
/rɛmɪˈnɪs(ə)ns
/noun
1A story told about a past event remembered by the narrator: his reminiscences of his early days in Parliament...
- It contains heartfelt stories and reminiscences as he remembers them, triumphs and tragedies that are part and parcel of a commander's or staff officer's career.
- Their sessions had lost much of the earlier intensity, devolving at times into long reminiscences - war stories, if you will - that had the effect of fleshing out and humanizing the mere facts with which they had plied her.
- Someday, this car, too, is likely to evoke the affection, the stories, and the reminiscences that the restored 240Z did when I took it to a Kool & the Gang concert this summer.
Synonyms
memories, recollections, reflections, remembrances, anecdotes;
memoirs
1.1 [mass noun] The enjoyable recollection of past events: his story made me smile in reminiscence...
- It still makes me smile in reminiscence, seeing the look on a young kid's face when you drag him off the floor while the band plays on.
- I bet that anyone who has passed this stage, will, at this point have a faint smile of fond reminiscence.
- I smiled in reminiscence as I ran my hands over it.
1.2 (reminiscences) A collection in literary form of incidents that someone remembers.We read his reminiscences of travel to many different parts of the globe....
- William James quoting from the childhood reminiscences of Ballard, a deaf mute, and Laura Brigman's case, a blind-deaf mute, however, illustrate the two points aptly enough.
- ‘Self-effacing’ is a not a term that many would apply to Menzies, but his reminiscences could be described as such.
2A characteristic of one thing that is suggestive of another: his first works are too full of reminiscences of earlier poetry...
- The terraced square of rough stone blocks follows the terrain, suggesting an odd reminiscence of prehistoric megaliths.
Derivatives
reminiscential
- Francis' reminiscential speech contained a whole encyclopaedia of interesting and relevant facts.
- It might well be argued that the reminiscential mood is the very foundation and origin of all true literature
Origin
Late 16th century (denoting the action of remembering): from late Latin reminiscentia, from Latin reminisci 'remember'.