The act of committing something to memory through repetition or study. Learning information so thoroughly that it can be recalled without reference.
From Latin memoria meaning 'memory', combined with the suffix -ize. The concept evolved from classical rhetoric where orators needed to memorize lengthy speeches without written aids.
Before the printing press, memorization was considered the highest intellectual skill - medieval scholars could recite entire books verbatim, and some cultures still maintain oral traditions spanning thousands of years through pure memorization!
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