means A structure, object, or event created to keep the memory of a person or event alive.

from From Latin 'memorialis,' "belonging to memory," rooted in 'memoria' (memory) and ultimately 'memor,' "mindful, remembering." It came into English through Old French in the medieval period, first as something that simply served as a reminder, later hardening into stone and statuary. It shares a deep ancestor with 'memory' and 'commemorate' — all branches of a Latin family obsessed with not letting things slip away.