English
souvenir
Souvenir comes from French souvenir ‘to remember’, from Latin subveniō ‘come to mind, occur to’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-1‘to come, to step’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷm̥yéti1‘to come’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷəniō1‘to come’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEveniō1‘come’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubveniō2as subvenīre‘come to mind, occur to’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sovenir2‘to remember’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600soubvenir2‘to remember’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsouvenir3‘to remember’literally ‘memory’
- Englishearliest quotation 1979souvenir3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin subvenio
- 2 Wiktionary, French souvenir
- 3 Wiktionary, English souvenir
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers: “"Doubletime up to the ville and souvenir me one…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-Wiktionary, Latin subvenio‘to come, to step’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷm̥yétiWiktionary, Latin subvenio‘to come’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷəniōWiktionary, Latin subvenio‘to come’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEveniōWiktionary, Latin subvenio‘come’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubveniōWiktionary, French souveniras subvenīre‘come to mind, occur to’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sovenirWiktionary, French souvenir‘to remember’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600soubvenirWiktionary, French souvenir‘to remember’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsouvenirWiktionary, English souvenir‘to remember’literally ‘memory’
- Englishearliest quotation 1979souvenirWiktionary, English souvenir. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers: “"Doubletime up to the ville and souvenir me one…”
The story
Unadapted borrowing from French souvenir (literally “memory”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘to come, to step’
come, coming, base, basic, basis, bass, revenue, cum, venue, pug, contravention, quim, 54 more
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥yéti ‘to come’
through Proto-Italic *gʷəniō ‘to come’
convenience, misadventure, 21 more
through Latin veniō ‘come’
event, convention, adventure, avenue, inventory, intervene, advent, inventor, invent, provenance, convene, revenant, contravene, circumvention, 22 more
Today it means
noun An item of sentimental value, that is given or kept to remember an event or location.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “souvenir”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin subvenio, French souvenir. 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 *gʷem- / souvenir