memory

[mem-uh-ree] /ˈmɛm ə ri/
noun, plural memories.
1.
the mental capacity or faculty of retaining and reviving facts, events, impressions, etc., or of recalling or recognizing previous experiences.
2.
this faculty as possessed by a particular individual:
to have a good memory.
3.
the act or fact of retaining and recalling impressions, facts, etc.; remembrance; recollection:
to draw from memory.
4.
the length of time over which recollection extends:
a time within the memory of living persons.
5.
a mental impression retained; a recollection:
one's earliest memories.
6.
the reputation of a person or thing, especially after death; fame:
a ruler of beloved memory.
7.
the state or fact of being remembered.
8.
a person, thing, event, fact, etc., remembered.
9.
commemorative remembrance; commemoration:
a monument in memory of Columbus.
10.
the ability of certain materials to return to an original shape after deformation.
11.
Also called computer memory, storage. Computers.
  1. the capacity of a computer to store information subject to recall.
  2. the components of the computer in which such information is stored.
12.
Rhetoric. the step in the classical preparation of a speech in which the wording is memorized.
13.
Cards. concentration (def 7).
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English memorie < Latin memoria, equivalent to memor mindful, remembering + -ia -y3
Examples from the web for memory
  • Psychological pressure can make you more attentive, improving your memory and ability to learn.
  • How a mental gym can tone your mind and stave off memory loss.
  • Today's mind-altering chemicals can improve your memory, alertness, and mood.
  • It's probably a merciful thing that pain is impossible to describe from memory.
  • Please respond with whatever pops into your mind-if it's character, a specific scene, a childhood memory-whatever.
  • The beauty of a brief affair is its ability to exist as a single, unique memory.
  • Can you do anything to bolster your own memory? memory alone won't turn you into a genius.
  • For the most part, Winter says she has figured out how to live her life with no visual memory.
  • Write about a happy Thanksgiving memory.
  • Generalizing that to say all memory is always unreliable is just irresponsible.
British Dictionary definitions for memory

memory

/ˈmɛmərɪ/
noun (pl) -ries
1.
  1. the ability of the mind to store and recall past sensations, thoughts, knowledge, etc: he can do it from memory
  2. the part of the brain that appears to have this function
2.
the sum of everything retained by the mind
3.
a particular recollection of an event, person, etc
4.
the time over which recollection extends: within his memory
5.
commemoration or remembrance: in memory of our leader
6.
the state of being remembered, as after death
7.
Also called RAM, main store, store. a part of a computer in which information is stored for immediate use by the central processing unit See also backing store, virtual storage
8.
the tendency for a material, system, etc, to show effects that depend on its past treatment or history
9.
the ability of a material, etc, to return to a former state after a constraint has been removed
Word Origin
C14: from Old French memorie, from Latin memoria, from memor mindful
Word Origin and History for memory
n.

mid-13c., "recollection (of someone or something); awareness, consciousness," also "fame, renown, reputation," from Anglo-French memorie (Old French memoire, 11c., "mind, memory, remembrance; memorial, record") and directly from Latin memoria "memory, remembrance, faculty of remembering," noun of quality from memor "mindful, remembering," from PIE root *(s)mer- "to remember" (Sanskrit smarati "remembers," Avestan mimara "mindful;" Greek merimna "care, thought," mermeros "causing anxiety, mischievous, baneful;" Serbo-Croatian mariti "to care for;" Welsh marth "sadness, anxiety;" Old Norse Mimir, name of the giant who guards the Well of Wisdom; Old English gemimor "known," murnan "mourn, remember sorrowfully;" Dutch mijmeren "to ponder"). Meaning "faculty of remembering" is late 14c. in English.

I am grown old and my memory is not as active as it used to be. When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to go to pieces like this, but we all have to do it. [Mark Twain, "Autobiography"]
Computer sense, "device which stores information," is from 1946. Related: Memories.

memory in Medicine

memory mem·o·ry (měm'ə-rē)
n.

  1. The mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experience based on the mental processes of learning, retention, recall, and recognition.

  2. Persistent modification of behavior resulting from experience.

  3. The capacity of a material, such as plastic or metal, to return to a previous shape after deformation.

  4. The capability of the immune system to produce a specific secondary response to an antigen it has previously encountered.

memory in Science
memory
(měm'ə-rē)

    1. The ability to remember past experiences or learned information, involving advanced mental processes such as learning, retention, recall, and recognition and resulting from chemical changes between neurons in several different areas of the brain, including the hippocampus. Immediate memory lasts for just a few seconds. Short-term memory stores information that has been minimally processed and is available only for a few minutes, as in remembering a phone number just long enough to use it. Short-term memory is transferred into long-term memory, which can last for many years, only when repeated use of the information facilitates neurochemical changes that allow it to be retained. The loss of memory because of disease or injury is called amnesia.

    2. The collection of information gained from past learning or experience that is stored in a person's mind.

    3. A piece of information, such as the mental image of an experience, that is stored in the memory.

    4. A part of a computer in which data is stored for later use.

    5. The capacity of a computer, chips, and storage devices to preserve data and programs for retrieval. Memory is measured in bytes. See more at hard disk, RAM, ROM.

    1. A part of a computer in which data is stored for later use.

    2. The capacity of a computer, chips, and storage devices to preserve data and programs for retrieval. Memory is measured in bytes. See more at hard disk, RAM, ROM.

  3. The capacity of a material, such as plastic or metal, to return to a previous shape or condition.

  4. The capacity of the immune system to produce a specific immune response to an antigen it has previously encountered.


memory in Technology

storage
These days, usually used synonymously with Random Access Memory or Read-Only Memory, but in the general sense it can be any device that can hold data in machine-readable format.
(1996-05-25)

Idioms and Phrases with memory

memory

see: