SOUVENIR

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does souvenir mean? 

• SOUVENIR (noun)
  The noun SOUVENIR has 2 senses:

1. something of sentimental value

2. a reminder of past events

  Familiarity information: SOUVENIR used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SOUVENIR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Something of sentimental value

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

keepsake; relic; souvenir; token

Hypernyms ("souvenir" is a kind of...):

object; physical object (a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "souvenir"):

love-token (keepsake given as a token of love)

favor; favour; party favor; party favour (souvenir consisting of a small gift given to a guest at a party)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A reminder of past events

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

memento; souvenir

Hypernyms ("souvenir" is a kind of...):

reminder (an experience that causes you to remember something)

 Context examples 

He then took a bundle of smaller ribands of the same colour from his seconds, and walking round, he offered them to the noblemen and Corinthians at half-a-guinea apiece as souvenirs of the fight.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Ah,” said he, “I forgot that I had not seen you for some weeks. It is a little souvenir from the King of Bohemia in return for my assistance in the case of the Irene Adler papers.”

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I'm going to make a big request of you today, he said, pocketing his souvenirs with satisfaction, so I thought you ought to know something about me.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Here's another thing I always carry. A souvenir of Oxford days. It was taken in Trinity Quad—the man on my left is now the Earl of Dorcaster.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)