Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “monument” come from?

Monument comes from Old French monument, from Latin monumentum, a noun formed with the suffix -mentum from the root men- meaning to remember.

monument (English): A structure built for commemorative or symbolic...

Definitions

  1. A structure built for commemorative or symbolic...

Ancestry of “monument”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchmonument—
2Latinmonumentumreminder, memorial; monument; tomb, burial place
3Latinmoneō—
4Proto-Italicmoneōto remind, to warn
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmonéyeti—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmen-to think, mind; spiritual activity; to stay,...

Words derived from “monument”

  • monumented
  • monumentless
  • megamonument
Every word from Proto-Indo-European men- →