pamäti

Pamäť is a Slovak noun meaning memory. It is used to describe the capacity to store and recall information in humans, as well as to refer to information storage in computing, and in cultural or historical contexts to denote remembered events and practices.

In cognitive psychology, pamäť refers to the system that encodes, stores, and retrieves information. It includes sensory memory, short-term or working memory, and long-term memory. Long-term memory subdivides into explicit (declarative) memory, including episodic memory for personal events, and semantic memory for facts; and implicit (procedural) memory for skills. Memory performance is influenced by attention, emotion, and aging, and by health conditions such as amnesia or Alzheimer’s disease.

In computing, pamäť počítača comprises components that hold data during operation. It is divided into volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM), which loses data when power is off, and non-volatile memory, such as ROM or flash. RAM can be dynamic (DRAM) or static (SRAM). The speed and capacity of pamäť affect program performance, and memory hierarchies—including registers, caches, main memory, and storage—shape overall system behavior. Memory cards and other forms of external memory expand storage beyond primary RAM.

In sociology and cultural studies, pamäť also denotes collective or cultural memory—the shared store of events, narratives, rituals, and artifacts that shape a group’s identity. Monuments and memorial days are means of preserving and transmitting this memory.

The word originates from Proto-Slavic roots and has cognates in Polish pamięć, Czech paměť, and Russian память, reflecting its broad Slavic heritage. In Slovak, it appears in various compounds such as pamäťová karta and pamäťové moduly.