mnemonic (redirected from Mneumonic device)

mnemonic

Pronounced "ni-mon-ic." A memory aid. In programming, it is a name assigned to a machine function. For example, COM1 is the mnemonic assigned to serial port #1 on a PC. Programming languages are almost entirely mnemonics. For example, in x86 assembly language, CMP is used to represent the "compare" instruction and JE for "jump if equal."

Not Just for High Tech
Mnemonics have been used as verbal tricks to help people remember just about anything. For example "30 days hath September, April, June and November, etc." is a mnemonic rhyme. "Roy G. Biv" spells out the colors of a rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

---

mnemonic [nə′män·ik]

(psychology)

Aiding or pertaining to memory.

A device, such as combinations of letters, pictures, or words, to stimulate recall of the facts they represent.

---

(programming)

mnemonic - A word or string which is intended to be easier to remember than the thing it stands for. Most often used in "instruction mnemonic" which are so called because they are easier to remember than the binary patterns they stand for. Non-printing ASCII characters also have mnemonics like NAK, ESC, DEL intended to evoke their meaning on certain systems.