souvenirn.
/ˌsuːvəˈnɪə/, U.S. /ˌsuvəˈnɪ(ə)r/ 1. † b. A slight trace or vestige of something. Obsolete. rare.
a. A thing or fact remembered; an act or instance of remembering; a memory. Chiefly literary.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > [noun] > something remembered
i-mindOE
minda1300
remembrance?c1400
membrance1650
recollection1652
reminiscence1750
souvenir1775
memento1796
memory1801
remembery1882
1775 H. Walpole Lett. (1857) VI. 284 You have always been so good to me, Madam, and I am so grateful that if my souvenirs were marked with cups, there would be many more than mile-stones from hence to Ampthill.
1777 Countess of Upper Ossory Let. in J. H. Jesse G. Selwyn & his Contemp. (1844) III. 188 These are the words of our friend the Quaker, and the substantial proofs of this souvenir you will soon receive.
1866 D. G. Mitchell Doctor Johns I. xxii. 164 The mellowness of her tones win upon his dreary solitude... It brings a souvenir of the girlish Rachel, and his memory floats back upon the strains of the new singer.
1881 Cent. Mag. Nov. 66/1 It is hoped this analysis may serve to fix in the mind the already fleeting souvenirs of the event.
1889 Harper's Mag. Aug. 348/2 According as his new impressions or his souvenirs are stronger, the art he produces will be more or less imbued..with reminiscences of his original father-land.
1908 Edinb. Rev. Jan. 150 Versailles, where every stone evokes a souvenir of the past.
1967 S. Symons Combat Jrnl. viii. 105 The place..had obviously never left him that night, but remained couchant within him. It wasn't a question of a memory, or a souvenir, of a recollection.
2002 L. A. Rickels Nazi Psychoanal. I. 7 Eifermann was recalling, as her most vivid souvenir of the Hamburg Congress, the lord mayor's applause-winning declaration.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > a mark > trace or vestige > [noun]
signa1382
stepa1382
ficchingc1384
marka1400
tracesc1400
scentc1422
footstep?a1425
tidinga1440
relicc1475
smell?a1505
stead1513
vestigy1545
print1548
token1555
remnant1560
show1561
mention1564
signification1576
footing?1580
tract1583
remainder1585
vestige1602
wrack1602
engravement1604
footstepping1610
resent1610
ghost1613
impression1613
remark1624
footprint1625
studdle1635
vestigium1644
relict1646
perception1650
vestigiary1651
track1657
symptom1722
signacle1768
ray1773
vestigia1789
footmark1800
souvenir1844
latent1920
1844 T. Hood House of Mourning in Hood's Mag. Feb. 193 I would recommend this lavender Ducape, with only just a souvenir of sorrow in it—the slightest tinge of mourning.
1893 Collector 1 May 198/2 This sort of thing makes a man smile, to be sure, but after all, there is a souvenir of sadness in the smile.
2.
a. Something that is given or kept as a reminder of a place, person, event, etc.; a memento, a keepsake; spec. a (typically small and inexpensive) item designed for sale to tourists and having some association with the place visited. (Now the usual sense.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > reminder, putting in mind > [noun] > keepsake, souvenir
tokenc1385
remembrance1424
memory?c1425
memoranda1450
remembrancer1593
momento1600
relic1611
memorandum1679
memento1768
souvenir1776
keepsake1790
ricordo1821
a present from ——1853
1776 Catal. Stock in Trade Mr. J. Frankland, Jeweller 7 A souvenir mounted in gold.
1782 J. Douglas Travelling Anecd. I. 41 The youngest of the two girls..asked if she was certain, that the little souvenir she gave her was safe in her pocket.
1812 M. Edgeworth Emilie de Coulanges in Tales Fashionable Life V. 125 Trifles, which she intended to offer as souvenirs to her English friends.
1838 Stephen Trav. Russia 75/1 He gave me his last painting..as a souvenir for his sister.
1862 All Year Round 22 Nov. 249/2 The walls are decorated with such simple keepsakes and souvenirs of the home-land as I carry about with me.
1928 Amer. Mercury Oct. 208/2 To us, his cousins, he brought trinkets and souvenirs of the big city.
1941 H. L. Mencken Diary 8 Nov. (1989) 172 A scrapbook in which I have pasted various souvenirs of my mother.
2008 J. Oakes Algeria (Bradt Travel Guides) 50 Stalls..full of cheap, tacky souvenirs such as shells with ‘Algeria’ written on them or pictures of camels.
b. A book, esp. an illustrated literary annual, designed to be given as a gift. Cf. keepsake n. a. Now historical.Chiefly used in or with reference to the titles of such books, which were popular in the early 19th century.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > kind of book > [noun] > books intended as gifts or prizes
presentation copy1753
prize book1798
souvenir1798
reward book1801
leaving book1829
gift-book1834
1798 True Briton 21 Nov. (advt.) A large Assortment of Ladies and Gentlemen's Pocket Books..; the Atlas, Souvenir, and Repositories, and the various kinds of Almanacks.
1825 (title) The literary souvenir, or cabinet of poetry and romance.
1835 T. Hood Poetry, Prose, & Worse xxxvii How sweet if the bill..But enrich'd, as a copy of verses, The Gem, or a new Souvenir!
1840 T. Hood Miss Kilmansegg i, in New Monthly Mag. 60 93 Her ‘Early Lessons’ of every sort, Looked like Souvenirs.
1864 J. S. Le Fanu Uncle Silas I. xiii. 135 I was an admiring reader of the Albums, the Souvenirs, the Keepsakes, and all that flood of Christmas present lore which yearly irrigated England, with pretty covers and engravings.
1907 Munsey's Mag. Jan. 421/1 The day of ‘Annuals’, ‘Souvenirs’, and ‘Tokens’ set in, and there were countless poems on ‘Tears’, ‘Memory’, ‘Twilight’, ‘Dead Love’, [etc.].
2000 M. Smith in C. Brontë Lett. II. 121 Letitia Elizabeth Landon, b. 1802—the mainstay of polite ‘souvenirs’, ‘keepsakes’, and ladies' scrapbooks.
c. Military slang. In the First World War (1914–18): a shell, a bullet.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > bullet or shell
souvenir1915
1915 Independent (N.Y.) 1 Feb. 158/1 We were heavily coal-boxed all thru the morning and were further honored by an introduction to the ‘souvenirs’ issued by the ger boys' mortars.
1915 D. O. Barnett Let. 1 July in In Happy Memory 140 They kept sending their big black souvenirs over.
1917 A. G. Empey Over Top x. 66 ‘I'll send over a couple of souvenirs to Fritz, so that he'll miss me when I leave,’ he stuck his rifle over the top and fired two shots.
Compounds
C1.
a. General attributive (in sense 2a), as souvenir shop, souvenir store, souvenir industry, etc.
ΚΠ
1867 Standard 6 Nov. 5/4 There had been a regular great Exhibition settlement..of wine and beer shops;..newspaper, photograph, restaurant, and souvenir stalls; [etc.].
1885 Jrnl. Conchol. 4 337 I considered myself fortunate in finding in a souvenir-shop at Arcachon, Gironde, a box of valves of a large Anodon.
1919 National Druggist Dec. 521/1 Ever notice these souvenir stores that dot our large cities?
1950 J. Flanner in New Yorker 25 Feb. 84/2 The best souvenir shops for the pilgrims are in the Via della Conciliazione.
1972 Bulletin (Sydney) 15 Jan. 25/3 In one of the 30 or so souvenir stops..are three Tokyo tourists.
1995 National Geographic Traveler July 64/1 So ubiquitous are troll dolls in gift shops and souvenir stands throughout Norway that you might conclude they constitute the whole of Norwegian folklore and mythology.
2009 ‘R. Keeland’ tr. S. Larsson Girl who kicked Hornets' Nest xi. 215 Child labour exists mostly in the textile and souvenir industries in Thailand.
b. Appositive, designating something given or purchased as a souvenir, as souvenir mug, souvenir spoon, souvenir programme, etc.Sometimes passing into an adjective.
ΚΠ
1843 North Amer. & Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia) 13 May Silk and shell souvenir card cases inlaid with pearl.
1890 St. Paul (Minnesota) Daily News 5 July 5/1 (advt.) Souvenir spoons, at Myers & Co.'s.
1900 Daily News 15 Nov. 5/2 The presentation of a silver trophy to each corps and of a souvenir card to each Volunteer.
1901 Lowell (Mass.) Sun 19 July 7 (advt.) A beautiful souvenir Chemitype Picture will be given absolutely free.
1913 E. Ferber Roast Beef Medium ii. 34 Women streaming in and streaming out again, each with a souvenir pink carnation pinned to her coat.
1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File ii. 22 A cigarette-girl..tried to sell me a souvenir programme.
1974 J. Willwerth Jones: Portrait of Mugger iv. 52 A wood and glass cabinet stuffed with beer mugs, glasses, and souvenir bric-a-brac leans against one wall.
1990 Yachting Feb. 41/3 A few thousand places specializing in souvenir T-shirts.
2007 Times 27 Feb. (Times2 section) 12/1 It's like a royal wedding without the flags or the souvenir mugs.
c. Objective with agent nouns (in sense 2a), as souvenir seller, souvenir hawker, souvenir buyer, etc.
ΚΠ
1865 Illustr. Mag. 20 183/1 Besides the above-named souvenir-sellers there are vendors of photographic views, stereoscopic slides, &c.
1919 J. Thurber Let. 22 Mar. (2002) 28 Rushing about..trailing guide books and maps, besieged by the army of post-card and souvenir hawkers.
1988 Travelling Spring 23/1 Men with cormorants posing for photographs, souvenir peddlers, fake antiques and knick-knackery shops.
1990 Gifts Internat. Nov. 32/2 The Americans and Japanese who are among the most free-spending souvenir buyers.
1994 Denver Post 16 Jan. t10/1 A collection of upscale shops and duty-free outlets..allow souvenir seekers to graze along counters stocked with jade jewelry and silk blouses.
2010 Independent 27 Nov. (Traveller section) 3/3 It was also a financial blow for the excursion organisers and souvenir sellers of Tunis.
C2.
souvenir hunter n. (a) a person who searches for souvenirs to buy; (b) a person who takes or steals something, esp. an item of historical or cultural interest, to keep as a souvenir; cf. souvenir v. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > petty thief or pilferer > [noun]
mitcher?c1225
nimmera1325
pilferer1350
truffer1485
lurcher1528
picker1549
filcher1557
purloiner1557
prig1567
prigger1567
prigman1567
fingerer1575
piker1590
prag1592
nibbler1598
lurch-man1603
petty larcener1640
budge1673
catch-cloaka1679
prigster1682
sutler1699
marauder1764
snib1823
chicken thief1840
lurker1841
souvenir hunter1862
robberling1865
jackdaw1887
miker1890
frisker1892
bower-bird1926
jagoff1931
magpie1944
slockster-
1862 Spectator 15 Nov. 1271/1 No sooner had the Exhibition been turned into a bazaar than this army of souvenir-hunters came flocking into the building.
1865 Boston Daily Advertiser 1 Apr. 1/8 The tree under which Grant and Pemberton held the interview which resulted in the capitulation of Vicksburg has disappeared, root, branch, trunk and all, carried off by souvenir hunters.
1923 R. Kipling Irish Guards in Great War I. 131 Being a hardened souvenir-hunter, he is reported to have removed the official German name-board of the establishment.
1976 B. Jackson Flameout (1977) iii. 40 Souvenir hunters were a menace..stealing bits of metal that could, if left in position, help determine the cause of the crash.
1989 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 12 Nov. 1 a Souvenir hunters snatched up pieces of the Berlin Wall, for 28 years a grim monument to national division.
2001 Times 24 Jan. i. 2/2 The themed zones, lifts, and hundreds of seats will go on sale to souvenir hunters on February 27.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
souvenirv.
/ˌsuːvəˈnɪə/, U.S. /ˌsuvəˈnɪ(ə)r/ 1. transitive. To commemorate or pay tribute to, esp. by providing or issuing a souvenir or souvenirs. Also: to serve as a souvenir or memento of. Usually in passive. Somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > reminder, putting in mind > remind [verb (transitive)] > serve as memento
souvenir1842
1842 Musical World 20 Jan. 20/1 We were not hitherto aware that there was anything worth souveniring in Monpou's wishy-washy opera.
1880 Art Amateur 2 87/2 The well-known violinist, Ole Bull, has lately celebrated his seventieth birthday. I see by the newspapers that he was fêted, and congratulated, and souvenired to a fabulous amount.
1914 Congregationalist & Christian World 26 Nov. 736/2 The Silver Jubilee was souvenired by a silver medal.
1917 W. Owen Let. 25 Nov. (1967) 510 How much better than a photograph does it [sc. a poem] souvenir that day!
1976 Vogue Jan. 7/2 The Tate..is issuing a special Constable diary..and a Constable paper-weight. So the exhibition will be fully souvenired.
2012 J. Horton & P. Kraftl in O. Jones & J. Garde-Hansen Geogr. & Memory i. i. 32 The journeys and experiences souvenired by my childhood badge collection.
2. transitive. colloquial (originally and chiefly Australian and New Zealand). To take or keep as a souvenir or memento; (euphemistic) to appropriate, steal, pilfer. Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > petty theft or pilfering > pilfer [verb (intransitive)]
pelfa1400
picka1555
befilch1566
filch1567
pilch1573
lurch1593
purloin1611
nim1622
shirk1709
pilfer1729
maraud1770
souvenir1897
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > petty theft or pilfering > pilfer [verb (transitive)]
mitcha1393
pelfa1400
purloinc1475
prowl?1529
finger1530
pilfer1532
lurchc1565
filch1567
filch1574
proloyne1581
nim1606
hook1615
truff1718
snaffle1725
crib1735
pettifog1759
magg1762
niffle1785
cabbage1793
weed1811
nibble1819
cab1825
smouch1826
snuga1859
mooch1862
attract1891
souvenir1897
rat1906
snipe1909
promote1918
salvage1918
smooch1941
1897 Southern Argus (S. Austral.) 1 July 314/7 I wonder..how many of the 20,000 children and of the spectators souvenired those bags of Jubilee cake on Tuesday, for the purpose of keeping them for the next Jubilee celebration, as relics of an event to be a reminiscence goodness knows how long hence.
1914 J. D. Sawyer How to make Country Place vi. 235 A few bead-edged brass finger plates were souvenired from grandfather's Colonial house where we all ran rampant, especially on holidays.
1920 Punch 28 Jan. 65/1 The Major..set the ladies souveniring among old water-tin stoppers, which he alleged to be the plugs of hand-grenades.
1931 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 12 Jan. 10/6 Many parts from the machine..were believed to have been ‘souvenired’.
1944 F. Clune Red Heart 19 I dug up his body, souvenired his false teeth.
1969 I. J. C. Brown Rhapsody of Words 120 Silver spoons and jewellery souvenired from rooms with open windows.
2004 Sunday Mail (S. Austral.) (Nexis) 28 Nov. 132 The ball was souvenired by a spectator and not returned.
3. transitive. Military slang. In the First World War (1914–18): to pierce or wound with a shell or bullet. Cf. souvenir n. 2c.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > fire (a gun) [verb (transitive)] > shoot (a person or thing)
shoot1617
to bird off1688
to knock downa1744
to pick off1745
pop1762
drill1808
plug1833
perforate1838
slap1842
stop1845
pot1860
spot1882
plunk1888
pip1900
souvenir1915
poop1917
spray1922
smoke1926
zap1942
crack1943
pot-shoot1969
1915 Times 31 Mar. 6/2 Our periscope was ‘souvenired’ later on with a rifle bullet clean through the tin sides.
1918 ‘J. Oxenham’ High Altars 56 I came across a new verb—to souvenir. A German prisoner, brought in wounded, was asked by one of his helpers for a souvenir. ‘I have already been souvenired,’ was his reply.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1775
v.1842