keepsake

English

WOTD – 4 July 2007

Etymology

From keep +‎ sake.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkiːp.seɪk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

keepsake (plural keepsakes)

1. Some object given by a person and retained in memory of something or someone; something kept for sentimental or nostalgic reasons.

   She gave him a lock of hair as a keepsake of their time together.

2. (historical) Specifically, a type of literary album popular in the nineteenth-century, containing scraps of poetry and prose, and engravings.

Synonyms

• memento
• souvenir
• (plural): memorabilia

Translations

object retained in memory of something or someone

• Bashkir: иҫтәлек (iśtəlek)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 紀念品 / 纪念品 (zh) (jìniànpǐn)

• Danish: minde n
• Dutch: herinnering (nl), aandenken (nl)
• Finnish: muisto (fi), muistoesine (fi)
• French: souvenir (fr) m
• Georgian: სამახსოვრო საჩუქარი (samaxsovro sačukari), სუვენირი (suveniri)
• German: Andenken (de) n, Erinnerung (de) f, Liebgewonnenes n, Erinnerungsstück (de) n
• Greek: ενθύμιο (el) n (enthýmio), αναμνηστικό (el) n (anamnistikó)
• Hebrew: מזכרת (he) f (mazkeret)
• Italian: ricordo (it) m, memoria (it) f, memento m
• Kyrgyz: белек (ky) (belek)
• Macedonian: спомен m (spomen)
• Maori: whakaturi
• Plautdietsch: Aunjedenkj n
• Polish: pamiątka (pl) f
• Portuguese: recordação (pt) f
• Romanian: suvenir (ro) n
• Russian: сувени́р (ru) m (suvenír)
• Scottish Gaelic: cuimhneachan m
• Serbo-Croatian: ȕspomena (sh) f
• Spanish: recuerdo (es) m

French

Etymology

From English keepsake.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kip.sɛk/, /kip.sɛjk/

Noun

keepsake m (plural keepsakes)

1. (historical) keepsake, literary album

Further reading

• “keepsake”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.