English

Alternative forms

• mnemonick (obsolete, rare)

Adjective

mnemonic ‎(not comparable)

1. Of or relating to mnemonics: the study of techniques for remembering anything more easily.

Translations

Noun

mnemonic ‎(plural mnemonics)

1. Anything (especially something in verbal form) used to help remember something.

   To remember the colours of the rainbow, use the mnemonic "Richard of York gave battle in vain" (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet).

   • 2003, Alex Kimbell, The Unbridgeable Divide (page 54)

     Mr Avery was a great believer in mnemonics; he had one for every possible aspect of flying – which was as good a way as any for student pilots to familiarise themselves with their new environment […]

2. (computing) The textual, human-readable form of an assembly language instruction, not including operands.

Synonyms

• aide-mémoire

Translations

Derived terms

• neuro-mnemonic

Related terms

• mnemonics
• mnemonize
• mnemotechny
• mnemotechnic
• mnemotechnical

See also

• Mnemosyne, mother of the Muses, who personified Memory in Greek mythology.
• crib
• not to be confused with pneumonic

References

• “mnemonic” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).
• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
• mnemonic in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911