memoir means an autobiography; a book describing the personal experiences of an author.
memoir is pronounced /ˈmɛmˌwɑː/.
Why “memoir” is a great word
A historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources. From the French mémoire ("memory, memorandum"), from the Latin memoria ("memory, remembrance"), first recorded in English in the early 15th century in the sense of 'written record'. Unlike "autobiography," with its dutiful march from cradle to present, or "biography," the authorized portrait painted by another, the memoir is a selective excavation: the scent of a father's coat collar, the grit of desert sand between the teeth, the hush that falls over a kitchen when a secret is whispered. It stitches together the past not as a monument but as an echo, built from the salvage of the self.
Etymology
Borrowed from French mémoire, from Middle French memoire, from Old French memoire, from Latin memoria. Doublet of memoria and memory.
noun
- An autobiography; a book describing the personal experiences of an author.e.g.“When I retire, I'm going to write my memoirs.”
- 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.e.g.“James wrote a memoir of his grandmother shortly after she passed away.”
- Any form of narrative describing the personal experiences of a writer.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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