Recollections

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɹɛkəˈlɛkʃənz/

Definitions

1. The act of recalling past experiences and events can evoke emotions and nostalgia
2. The mental images and feelings associated with events from the past can provide insight into one's experiences
3. Thoughts or images from past times that a person remembers

Etymology: "Recollections" is the plural of "recollection," and the noun traces back to Latin "recolligere," meaning "to collect again," built from "re-" (again) and "colligere" (to gather). The Latin past participle "recollectus" passed into English both through French and as the basis of the verb "recollect," so the noun grew from the same stock. The core image is gathering things back together. A memory is something the mind picks up again after it has been set down, so a recollection is a thought or picture that has been gathered back from the past. Because of this sense of retrieving what was scattered, English uses the plural to mean a set of such memories rather than one single act of remembering.

Synonyms: memories, remembrances, reminiscences