noun

recollection

rek-uh-LEK-shun/ˌrekəˈlekʃn/

The bringing of a past experience back to mind.

The old glove brings back a recollection of playing catch with a father.

Old glove recalls childhood catch with father.

Etymology

reLatinagain

+collectLatinto gather

+ionLatinact or process

A recollection was a “gathering together again,” which became a gathering back into memory. The word then extended from the act of remembering to the thing or scene remembered.

In context

Storytime Haven35:30

He smiled a little sardonically as the recollection of the evening’s entertainment crossed his mind

A Prince of Swindlers 👑💰 | A Tale of Deceit and Adventure by Guy Boothby

More examples

To the best of my recollection, we left before noon.
She has no recollection of signing the form.
His recollections of childhood make us laugh.

Forms

recollection · recollections

recollect verb — Bring a past experience back to mind.

Similar words

memory: More broadly covers stored information and the ability to remember.
recall: Emphasizes the act or ability of retrieving information from memory.