Commemorate

WORD OF THE DAY

commemorate / verb / kuh-MEM-uh-rayt

Definition

1a: to call to remembrance

2a: to mark by some ceremony or observation 

2b: observe

3: to serve as a memorial of

Examples

A plaque commemorates the battle that took place on this spot 200 years ago.

"The conference will feature presentations by educators and World War II history experts, along with discussions with veterans of the war. It will culminate with a remembrance ceremony at the World War II Memorial, where participants will commemorate veterans of that war." 

— Abigail Austin, The Morning Sentinel (Waterville, Maine), 15 Apr. 2019

Did You Know?

When you remember something, you are mindful of it. It's appropriate, therefore, that commemorate and other related memory-associated words (including memorable, memorial, remember, and memory itself) come from the Latin root memor, meaning "mindful." 

Some distant older relatives are Old English gemimor("well-known"), Greek mermēra("care"), and Sanskrit smarati("he remembers"). 

English speakers have been marking the memory of important events with commemorate since the late 16th century.