different between reminiscence vs memoir

English

Etymology

From Late Latin remin?scentiae (“remembrances”), from Latin remin?sc?ns, present active participle of remin?scor (“remember”); see reminiscent.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???m.??n?s.?ns/
• Rhymes: -?ns

Noun

reminiscence (countable and uncountable, plural reminiscences)

1. An act of remembering long-past experiences, often fondly.
2. A mental image thus remembered.

Synonyms

• recall
• recollection

Coordinate terms

• flashback - memory of trauma

Related terms

• reminiscent
• reminiscential

Translations

See also

• nostalgia

Further reading

• reminiscence in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• reminiscence in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

English

Etymology

From French mémoire (“memoir”), from Latin memoria (“memory”). Doublet of memoria and memory.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?m?m?w??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?m?m?w??/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /?m?m????/
• Hyphenation: mem?oir

Noun

memoir (plural memoirs)

1. An autobiography; a book describing the personal experiences of an author.

2. A biography; a book describing the experiences of a subject from personal knowledge of the subject or from sources with personal knowledge of the subject.

3. Any form of narrative describing the personal experiences of a writer.

Usage notes

A memoir may differ from a simple biography or autobiography by not focusing on the author as the primary subject matter, but on people and events in the subject's life. Emphasis is placed on personal observations about external events.

The plural memoirs is often used to refer to a single work.

Related terms

• memory

Translations

References

• “memoir” in Michael Agnes, editor-in-chief, Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4th edition, Cleveland, Oh.: Wiley, 2010, ?ISBN; reproduced on the Collins English Dictionary
• “memoir” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “memoir”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, (Please provide a date or year).
• “memoir”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• “Memoir” in John Walker, A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary […] , London: Sold by G. G. J. and J. Robin?on, Paterno?ter Row; and T. Cadell, in the Strand, 1791, ?OCLC, page 341, column 2.

Further reading

• memoir on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• memoir in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• momier