English
mneme
Mneme comes from Ancient Greek μνήμη ‘memory, remembrance’, from Proto-Indo-European *mneh₂- ‘to remind’, and perhaps ultimately from *men- ‘to remember, mind’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-1‘to remember, mind’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mneh₂-1‘to remind’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμνάομαι2‘to be mindful of, remember’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμνήμη3mnḗmē‘memory, remembrance’
- Germanc. 1650–presentMneme3
- Englishearliest quotation 1911mneme3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μνάομαι, which cites Beekes, LIV
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μνήμη
- 3 Wiktionary, English mneme
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1911, e Forel, The Sexual question: “If the engraphia of the external world could sensibly…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μνάομαι, which cites Beekes, LIV‘to remember, mind’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mneh₂-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μνάομαι, which cites Beekes, LIV‘to remind’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμνάομαιWiktionary, Ancient Greek μνήμη‘to be mindful of, remember’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμνήμηWiktionary, English mnememnḗmē‘memory, remembrance’
- Germanc. 1650–presentMnemeWiktionary, English mneme
- Englishearliest quotation 1911mnemeWiktionary, English mneme. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1911, e Forel, The Sexual question: “If the engraphia of the external world could sensibly…”
first attested First attested in English in 1921 where it was capitalized Mneme (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)
The story
Borrowed from German Mneme which was coined by German evolutionary biologist Richard Semon in 1904 from Ancient Greek μνήμη (mnḗmē). First attested in English in 1921 where it was capitalized Mneme.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to remember, mind’
music, mind, money, amount, mouth, mountain, museum, comment, mental, remain, mention, monster, auto, mount, min, monitor, permanent, monk, mint, demonstration, monetary, maya, monte, monument, mentor, monastery, muse, mosaic, summon, ming, mas, mandarin, mantra, mont, imminent, mania, muster, monstrous, prominence, dementia, 120 more
through Proto-Indo-European *mneh₂- ‘to remind’
through Ancient Greek μνάομαι ‘to be mindful of, remember’
Today it means
noun Persisting effect of memory of past events.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “mneme”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek μνάομαι, Ancient Greek μνήμη. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *men- / mneme