Amnesty and memory are closely related, not just linguistically and etymologically, but also politically. Etymology shows that amnesty begins with not remembering. Politically, much of the current outrage over presidential amnesty for illegal immigrants seems to have developed amnesia regarding President Reagan’s executive orders advocating amnesty for illegal immigrants who had joined the American workforce. Politics aside, let’s look at some etymology.
Memory:
Lest we forget, the noun “memory” meaning “recollection of someone or something; awareness, consciousness” came into English during the mid-thirteenth century from the Anglo-French “memorie” meaning “mind, memory, remembrance; memorial, record.” The Proto-Indo-European root is “*(s)mer-” meaning “to remember.”
Some etymologies show the Proto-Indo-European base as “*men-” or a “*mon-”. “Remember” meaning to “recall to mind” came from “*men-” which formed the base of the Latin verb “rememorārē” which then came into English via the Old French “remembrer.”
The prefix “re-” is generally found in words of Latin origin and carries the meaning of “again” to indicate repetition.
Amnesty:
The noun “amnesty” meaning “pardon of past offenses” came into English in the 1570s from the French “amnestie” meaning “intentional overlooking.” The French came from the Latin “amnestia,” which originated from the Greek “amnestia” meaning “forgetfulness of wrong.” The Greek word is made up of a prefix “a-” meaning “not” plus “mnestis” meaning “remembrance.”
The formal current definition of “amnesty” is “a decision that a group of people will not be punished or that a group of prisoners will be allowed to go free.” In criminal law, amnesty is “granted by a government, especially to a group of persons who are guilty of (usually political) crimes in the past. It is often conditional upon the group's return to obedience and duty within a prescribed period.”
Amnesia:
The noun “amnesia,” meaning “loss of memory,” can trace its origins to the Greek “amnesia” meaning “forgetfulness.” The Greek word is made up of the prefix “a-” meaning “not” plus “mimneskesthai” meaning “to recall, cause to remember.” The Proto-Indo-European root is “*men-” meaning “to think, remember.”
Memorandum:
In Latin, “memorandum” refers to a thing “to be remembered” and comes from “memorare” meaning “to call to mind.” The Proto-Indo-European base is “*men-”. Originally, “memorandum” was written at the top of a note and by the 1540s it had come to refer to the note itself. Since the word is Latin, “memorandum” is singular and “memoranda” is plural. Memorandum is often abbreviated as memo.
Note: In etymologies, the * indicates that the Proto-Indo-European or prehistoric word has been reconstructed by historical linguists.