commemorate

First attested in 1599; borrowed from Latin commemorātus, perfect passive participle of commemorō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix). Sporadic usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

• IPA^(key): /kəˈmɛməˌɹeɪt/

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commemorate (third-person singular simple present commemorates, present participle commemorating, simple past and past participle commemorated)

1. (transitive) To honour the memory of someone or something with a ceremony or object.

   Synonym: memorialize

   On November 11th we commemorate the fallen with a march.

   • 2009, Naava Piatka, No Goodbyes: A Father-Daughter Memoir of Love, War and Resurrection, page 98:

     On the anniversary of Korczak's murder, Israel commemorated him with a special postal issue. As a stamp collector and philatelic columnist, it pleased me greatly when other countries followed Israel's example in honoring him.

2. (transitive) To serve as a memorial to someone or something.

   The cenotaph commemorates the fallen.

commemorate (comparative more commemorate, superlative most commemorate)

1. (obsolete, rare, as a participle) Commemorated.
   • 1671, Robert MacWard, The True Non-Conformist..., line 274:

     In almost all the Psalms of praise, we find the preceding distress and afflictions […] first pathetically commemorat.

commemorate

1. inflection of commemorare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

commemorate f pl

1. feminine plural of commemorato

commemorāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of commemorō