Dictionary

engram en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈɛŋˌɡɹæm/
• /ˈɛnˌɡɹæm/

Etymology

Borrowed from German Engramm which was coined by German evolutionary biologist Richard Semon in 1904. First attested in English in 1921 (see quotation below). Ultimately from Ancient Greek ἐν (en, “in”) + γράμμα (grámma, “writing, picture”).

Meanings

1. A postulated physical or biochemical change in neural tissue that represents a memory.
   • I use the word engram to denote this permanent change wrought by a stimulus; the sum of such engrams in an organism may be called its "engram-store," among which must distinguish inherited from acquired engrams. 1921 January, Richard Semon, “II (Engraphic Action of Stimuli on the Individual)”, in Louis Simon, transl., The Mneme, Cornell University Library, published 2005, page 24:
2. A painful, negative mental image representing a past event.

Forms

Deriveds

engrammic

Translations (6)

fi muistijälki (postulated change in neural tissue) · el έγγραμμα (postulated change in neural tissue) · fi engrammi (Scientology: negative mental image) · de Engramm (postulated change in neural tissue) · sv minnesspår (postulated change in neural tissue) · es engrama (postulated change in neural tissue)

wikipedia: Richard Semon