What does souvenir mean?
A souvenir is an object that serves as a reminder of somewhere, someone, or an experience. Such objects may have been bought while travelling, received as a gift, or simply kept because of their personal significance. The term is especially common in the context of tourism: visitors may purchase postcards, clothing, ornaments, or other small objects to take home, while others keep a ticket, photograph, or gift as a memento. “Souvenir” can therefore mean either the physical object itself or, more generally, the token or keepsake associated with an event. Although the word is often connected with holidays and tourist attractions, it can apply equally to family milestones, ceremonies, or emotionally important encounters. It is generally neutral and warm in tone, though it can sound slightly dismissive when it refers to an inexpensive object marketed primarily to tourists.
An object kept or acquired as a reminder of a place, person, or event; a keepsake or memento.
"He bought a tiny clay model of the castle as a souvenir."
Usually countable and commonly used in the context of travel, although it can describe any object retained for sentimental or commemorative value.
To acquire or collect something as a souvenir.
"We souvenired at several small shops along the coast."
This verb use is rare and informal, and is more likely to occur in British English than in American English.
The standard plural is “souvenirs.” The noun is usually countable, though “souvenir” can occasionally be used in an uncountable sense when referring to souvenir shopping or the activity of collecting souvenirs.
"The museum has shelves full of old postcards and other souvenirs."
The word began in French as something that brings the past to mind—making every souvenir a little piece of preserved memory.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does souvenir come from?
The English word entered from French souvenir, originally a word for a memory or reminder. French in turn developed it from Old French sovenir, “to remember,” ultimately from Latin supervenire, a verb meaning “to come upon” or “occur to the mind.” The Latin verb was built from sub- or super-, meaning “under” or “upon,” and venire, “to come,” the same ultimate root found in words such as event, advent, venue, and convenient.
Related word forms
How souvenir is actually used
The word is strongly associated with travel and objects bought during visits, although it can refer to any keepsake. In the singular, it may occasionally carry the slightly dismissive implication of a mass-produced tourist trinket.
Easily confused with souvenir
A souvenir is a keepsake or reminder, whereas a sovereign is a monarch or a supreme governing authority.