Etymology

souvenir

sou·ve·nir
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Today it means: An item of sentimental value, that is given or kept to remember an event or location. Full definition →

French souvenir
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The story

  1. French · borrowed fromsouvenir
  2. English todaysouvenir

Unadapted borrowing from French souvenir (literally “memory”). Compare memento.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.