mnemonic (the first “m” is silent)
noun

- something intended to assist the memory, as a verse or formula

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ORIGIN

The word “mnemonic” is derived from the Ancient Greek word μνημονικός (mnēmonikos), meaning ‘of memory’ or ‘relating to memory’ and is related to Mnemosyne (“remembrance”), the name of the goddess of memory in Greek mythology.

Ancient Greeks and Romans distinguished between two types of memory: the “natural” memory and the “artificial” memory. The former is inborn, and is the one that everyone uses instinctively. The latter in contrast has to be trained and developed through the learning and practice of a variety of mnemonic techniques.

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MEMORY TECHNIQUES

Mnemonics are often used for remembering lists and can take an auditory form, such as in short poems, acronyms, or memorable phrases.

Other techniques exploit the fact that the human mind more easily remembers spatial, personal, surprising, physical, humorous, or otherwise “relatable” information, rather than more abstract or impersonal forms of information.

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MNEMONIC EXAMPLES

The musical notes on the lines are E G B D F - use the mnemonic “Every good boy deserves fun”.

A mnemonic to remember the seven rainbow colours: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet, is "Richard Of York Goes Battling In Vain”.

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SYNONYMS

memory aid, aide-memoire, reminder,    cue, prompt, hint, nudge, clue, inkling, prod, tip-off, telltale, catchword, jolt, stimulus, tip, pointer, jog, MNEMONIC, help, hook, tickler, whisper, indicator, telltale sign, a blast from the past

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“I love this MNEMONIC for the nine planets: My Very Educated Mother Just Showed Us Nine Planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto).”

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Paul Smith