A mnemonic (pronounced in RPGA) is a memory aid. Most mnemonics serve an educational purpose. Mnemonics are usually verbal memory aids. For example, a word, each of whose letters help the user to remember the first letters of items in a list. However, there are also other types of mnemonics, such as visual mnemonics. Mnemonics rely on associations between something that is easy to remember, and something that is harder to remember. Sometimes mnemonics are chosen to directly relate to the target information, and othertimes they are arbitrary.
The word mnemonic is derived from the Ancient Greek word μνημονικός mnemonikos ("of memory") and is related to Mnemosyne ("remembrance"), the name of the Mother of the Muses in Greek mythology. Both of these words refer back to μνημα mnema ("remembrance"). The first known reference to mnemonics is the method of loci described in Cicero's De Oratore.