Misremembrance

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A faulty recollection of something that did not happen or did not happen the way one remembers it
2. An inaccurate memory of past events, often held with confidence despite being wrong in its details
3. The state or instance of recalling something incorrectly, so that the remembered version differs from what actually occurred

Etymology: "Misremembrance" is a plain compound: the prefix "mis-", meaning wrongly or badly, attached to "remembrance," a noun from the verb "remember," which comes through Old French "remembrer" from Latin "rememorari," to call back to mind. The prefix "mis-" is native English, from Old English, and it has been attached freely to verbs and nouns for centuries, so the word follows the same pattern as "misreading" or "mistrust." The result is exactly what the parts suggest: a faulty recollection, a memory that has drifted from what actually happened. Because "remembrance" itself has long meant the act of recalling or the memory held, adding "mis-" turns it into a name for the error rather than the memory. The word is best understood as a transparent formation, with no separate story behind it beyond the meanings of its two halves.

Synonyms: misrecollection

Antonyms: remembrance