Etymograph

English

monument

Monument comes from Latin monumentum ‘memorial, monument, tomb’, from moneō ‘to remind’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to think’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-1‘to think’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*monéyeti1‘to cause to think, make think’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*man-eje-1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moneō1‘to remind, warn’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoneō2as monēre‘to remind’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmonumentum2‘memorial, monument, tomb’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400monument2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500monument2
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1896monument2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin moneo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English monument
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1896, e Brachet, Paget Toynbee: “This linguistic fragment, rough as it may appear, is…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-Wiktionary, Latin moneo‘to think’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*monéyetiWiktionary, Latin moneo‘to cause to think, make think’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*man-eje-Wiktionary, Latin moneoreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moneōWiktionary, Latin moneo‘to remind, warn’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoneōWiktionary, English monumentas monēre‘to remind’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmonumentumWiktionary, English monument‘memorial, monument, tomb’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400monumentWiktionary, English monument
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500monumentWiktionary, English monument
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1896monumentWiktionary, English monument. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1896, e Brachet, Paget Toynbee: “This linguistic fragment, rough as it may appear, is…”

The story

Partially displaced Old English bēacn.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to think’

music, mind, money, remain, amount, mouth, museum, auto, min, mountain, comment, permanent, mental, mount, mention, maya, monetary, mint, amnesty, muse, ming, mas, mandarin, monk, mania, prominence, mosaic, amnesia, mentor, monastery, imminent, manic, mantra, dementia, eminent, menace, remnant, eminence, monte, mun, 112 more

through Proto-Indo-European *monéyeti ‘to cause to think, make think’

summon, 14 more

through Proto-Italic *moneō ‘to remind, warn’

monster, demonstration, monstrous, monstrosity, demonstrative, 14 more

through Latin moneō ‘to remind’

monitor, muster, admonition, minter, admonish, 5 more

Today it means

noun A structure built for commemorative or symbolic reasons, or as a memorial; a commemoration.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “monument”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin moneo. 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- / monument

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