alumnus

alumnus
/euh lum"neuhs/, n., pl. alumni /-nuy, -nee/.
1. a graduate or former student of a specific school, college, or university.
2. a former associate, employee, member, or the like: He invited all the alumni of the library staff to the party.
[1635-45; < L: foster son, pupil, equiv. to al- (s. of alere to feed, support) + -u- ( < stem-vowel *-o- in interior syllable) + -m(i)nus, orig. passive participial suffix (cf. ADULT, OLD), akin to Gk -menos; see PHENOMENON]
Usage. ALUMNUS (in Latin a masculine noun) refers to a male graduate or former student; the plural is ALUMNI. An ALUMNA (in Latin a feminine noun) refers to a female graduate or former student; the plural is ALUMNAE. Traditionally, the masculine plural ALUMNI has been used for groups composed of both sexes and is still widely so used: the alumni of Indiana University. Sometimes, to avoid any suggestion of sexism, both terms are used for mixed groups: the alumni/alumnae of Indiana University or the alumni and alumnae of Indiana University. While not quite equivalent in meaning, the terms graduate and graduates avoid the complexities of the Latin forms and eliminate any need for using a masculine plural form to refer to both sexes.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Synonyms:
(of an institution of learning), , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Alumnus — • Signifies in ecclesiastical usage, a student preparing for the sacred ministry in a seminary Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Alumnus     Alumnus      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • alumnus — (n.) 1640s, from L. alumnus a pupil, lit. foster son, vestigial present passive participle of alere to nourish (see OLD (Cf. old)), with ending akin to Gk. omenos. Plural is alumni. Fem. is alumna (1882), fem. plural alumnae …   Etymology dictionary

  • Alumnus — A*lum nus, n.; pl. {Alumni}. [L., fr. alere to nourish.] A pupil; especially, a graduate of a college or other seminary of learning. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Alúmnus — (lat.), Kostschüler, Pflegling, Zögling einer Erziehungsanstalt (Alumnat, Internat), der Wohnung, Kost und Unterricht (ganz oder halb frei) erhält; Gegensatz: Stadtschüler (Oppidanus, Extraneer). – Juristisch bezeichnet Alumnat das rein faktische …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • alumnus — (stressed on the second syllable) means a former student or pupil, and comes from a Latin word meaning ‘nursling’. It is more common in AmE than in BrE. The plural form is alumni (pronounced niy) and the female form is alumna (plural alumnae,… …   Modern English usage

  • alumnus — / alumna [n] graduate alum, old grad*, postgraduate; concept 350 …   New thesaurus

  • alumnus — ► NOUN (pl. alumni; fem. alumna, pl. alumnae) ▪ a former pupil or student of a particular school, college, or university. ORIGIN Latin, pupil , from alere nourish …   English terms dictionary

  • alumnus — ☆ alumnus [ə lum′nəs] n. pl. alumni [ə lum′nī΄] [L, a pupil, foster son < alere, to nourish: see OLD ] a person, esp. a boy or man, who has attended or is a graduate of a particular school, college, etc …   English World dictionary

  • Alumnus — Old girl redirects here. For the Australian Rules Football ground, see Victoria Park, Melbourne. Alumni redirects here. For the Argentine football team, see Alumni Athletic Club. An alumnus (plural alumni), according to the American Heritage… …   Wikipedia

  • Alumnus — Dieser Artikel oder Abschnitt ist nicht hinreichend mit Belegen (Literatur, Webseiten oder Einzelnachweisen) versehen. Die fraglichen Angaben werden daher möglicherweise demnächst gelöscht. Hilf Wikipedia, indem du die Angaben recherchierst und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alúmnus — Dieser Artikel oder Abschnitt ist nicht hinreichend mit Belegen (Literatur, Webseiten oder Einzelnachweisen) versehen. Die fraglichen Angaben werden daher möglicherweise demnächst gelöscht. Hilf Wikipedia, indem du die Angaben recherchierst und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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