Immemorable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not capable of being remembered or worthy of remembrance due to insignificance or lack of distinction
2. Something that cannot be recalled or is unremarkable enough to be forgotten in the passage of time
3. An entity that fails to leave a lasting impression or is deemed unworthy of being remembered

Etymology: "Immemorable" is a plain formation: the prefix "im-", meaning "not", attached to "memorable", which itself comes from "memorare", Latin for "to call to mind" or "to commemorate." The English word "memorable" is older and carries the sense of worth remembering, so "immemorable" simply reverses it, describing something not worth recalling. The source traces "immemorable" directly to Latin "immemorabilis", meaning "not memorable." English took the Latin adjective and gave it the same negative sense, so the word needed no change in meaning on the way in. It is a straightforward borrowing of an existing Latin form rather than a coinage built inside English.

Synonyms: forgotten, unremembered, obscure, unrecallable, unremarked

Antonyms: memorable, noteworthy, remarkable, significant, historic