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Glite Dictionary
🕯️ To honor the dead 📰 A tribute notice 🎼 A tribute work
in memoriam

in memoriam

1 7.3
To honor or remember someone who has died, often in a formal way
  • idiom
  • Formal
translation icon : en memoria de
  • During the event, a song was played in memoriam of the fallen heroes who served our country.

Examples

  • I will quietly toast a scotch in memoriam.

    Blog text (10)

  • In memoriam of a now deceased American icon, I submit to you the following Twinkie-related clip from one of my favorite zombie flicks (NSFW due to language).

    Blog text (25)

  • The ceremony featured a touching tribute in memoriam for those who lost their lives in the tragedy.

  • Every year, we hold a special gathering in memoriam of our beloved teacher who inspired so many students.

Synonyms

in honor of
vsin memoriam
  • US
90 1.8

To show respect to someone or something

is specific to remembering someone who has died rather than any tribute
in memory of
vsin memoriam
18 3.7

To remember someone who has died

is used mainly in formal or ceremonial contexts rather than informal ones

How Sentimental

in memoriam
  • Formal
1 7.3
for the hell of it
  • Informal
5 9.1

Surface Forms

in memoriam positive

Morphology

in + memoriam

This is a Latin phrase: knowing the English preposition 'in' does not help a B1 learner decode 'memoriam' (a non-English/Latin form of 'memory'), so the meaning 'in memory of' is not derivable from the visible constituents. Although many languages have equivalent expressions for honoring the dead, the use of a Latin lexical item makes the phrase idiomatic and unpredictable for learners, so it is not transparent.

Etymology

In memoriam comes from Latin words in and memoriam, which mean 'in memory'. People used the words on plaques and dedications to show something was made for a dead person. So it now means 'to honor or remember someone who has died'.