November 29, 2007
memento_mori
(n.)

a reminder of mortality; esp : DEATH’S-HEAD

Pronunciation:
meh-MEN-to MOHR-ee

In a sentence:
For his birthday, Hank’s sister gave him a human skull which doubled as a memento mori. They were very close.

In a different sentence:
Worried about her smoker of a son’s health, Marianne bought the boy a toy lung, painted it black, and presented it to him as a memento mori on his eighth birthday.

Brought to you by Merriam-Webster's Collegiate ® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition