μνημεῖον

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

  • μνᾱμεῖον (mnāmeîon)Doric
  • μνημήῐ̈ον (mnēmḗĭ̈on)Ionic

Etymology

From μνήμη (mnḗmē, memory) +‎ -εῖον (-eîon), from μνᾰ́ομαι (mnắomai, I am mindful of) +‎ -μη (-mē).

Pronunciation

 

Noun

μνημεῖον • (mnēmeîonn (genitive μνημείου); second declension

  1. any memorial, remembrance, record of a person or thing
    • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 2.135.3:
      ἐπεθύμησε γὰρ Ῥοδῶπις μνημήιον ἑωυτῆς ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι καταλιπέσθαι
      epethúmēse gàr Rhodôpis mnēmḗion heōutês en tēî Helládi katalipésthai
      For Rhodopis desired to leave a memorial of herself in Greece.
  2. memorial of a dead person; a monument
    • 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Electra 933:
      οἶμαι μάλιστ’ ἔγωγε τοῦ τεθνηκότος μνημεῖ’ Ὀρέστου ταῦτα προσθεῖναί τινα
      oîmai málist’ égōge toû tethnēkótos mnēmeî’ Oréstou taûta prostheînaí tina
      Most likely, I think, someone placed those gifts in memory of the dead Orestes.

Declension

Synonyms

Descendants

  • Greek: μνημείο (mnimeío)

References