What does memorially mean?
Memorially is a formal adverb meaning in a manner connected with commemoration or remembrance. It is especially appropriate when an action serves as a tribute to a person, event, achievement, or place. A ceremony described as being held memorially, for example, has the purpose of keeping an important person or event in collective remembrance. The word belongs mainly to commemorative, historical, and ceremonial language rather than everyday conversation. It also carries the idea of deliberate preservation or recognition, distinguishing it from a simple statement that something is remembered. Although comprehensible, memorially is uncommon, so a more familiar alternative such as in memory or in commemoration will often sound more natural, depending on the context.
adverbIn a manner connected with commemoration or remembrance, especially as a tribute to someone or something.
- In a manner connected with commemoration or remembrance, especially as a tribute to someone or something.
"The town unveiled a plaque memorially, honoring the residents who had died in the flood."
"The annual ceremony was held memorially to honor the war dead."
"The portrait was commissioned memorially, preserving the sitter's place in the family's history."
Memorially gives language the power to describe an act not simply as remembrance, but as a deliberate tribute.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does memorially come from?
Memorially combines the English adjective or noun memorial with the adverb-forming suffix -ly. Memorial derives from Latin memorialis, meaning of or pertaining to memory or remembrance; this in turn comes from memoria, meaning memory, and ultimately from Latin memor, meaning mindful or remembering. Related English forms include memorial, memory, memorable, memorandum, and commemorate.
How memorially is actually used
This is a formal and relatively uncommon word. It is most natural in ceremonial, commemorative, or memorial contexts and may sound strained when used for ordinary remembering.
Easily confused with memorially
A memorial is a noun or adjective referring to something that commemorates someone or something, whereas memorially is an adverb describing how an action is done in a commemorative manner.