Where did alumni come from?

Etymology. The Latin noun alumnus means "foster son" or "pupil". It is derived from the Latin verb alere "to nourish". Separate, but from the same root, is the adjective almus "nourishing", found in the phrase alma mater, a title for a person's home university.

Why do people say alumni instead of alumnus?

Traditionally, "alumnus" refers specifically to a singular male graduate and "alumni" is the plural form for a group of male graduates and for a group of male and female graduates. Meanwhile, the term for singular female graduates is the lesser spotted "alumna", and "alumnae" refers to a group of female-only graduates.

What is the real meaning of alumni?

: a person who has attended or has graduated from a particular school, college, or university.

What is alumni short for?

Alumni is the plural noun for a group of male graduates or male and female graduates. An alumnus is one male graduate. An alumna is one female graduate. And for a group of female graduates, you can use the plural alumnae.

Is alum slang for alumni?

The word “alum” is an informal reference to either a male or female graduate. “Alums” refers to a group of graduates that can be all male, all female or mixed. While this slang is fine for casual conversation, most grammar experts recommend using the proper Latin names in professional settings.

Alumnus - Alumni & Alumna - Alumnae ||What’s the difference? | English Lesson

Is alum grammatically correct?

For an individual graduate, an alumnus is a single male, an alumna is a single female, and an alum is the gender neutral term. For the plurals, alumni refers to multiple male or gender neutral graduates, alumnae is for multiple female grads, and alums is the gender neutral plural.

Should I use alum or alumna?

Alumni and alumnus are the preferred plural and singular terms of alumni of any gender. The feminine terms—alumna (singular) and alumnae (plural)—may be used in the context of the publication or the preferences of the subjects. Do not shorten to “alum” or “alums” except in informal communications.

What is female alumni called?

Alumni is a plural noun referring either to a group of male graduates or to a group of both male and female graduates. The singular “alumnus” refers to one male graduate, “alumna” refers to one female graduate, and the plural “alumnae” refers to a group of female graduates.

Why is it called alumni?

Etymology. The Latin noun alumnus means "foster son" or "pupil". It is derived from the Latin verb alere "to nourish". Separate, but from the same root, is the adjective almus "nourishing", found in the phrase alma mater, a title for a person's home university.

Can you say alma mater if you didn't graduate?

Alma mater would most often refer to your undergraduate institution in common usage, but strictly speaking it could be the "nourishing mother" of any of your studies, whether you graduated or not. You are only a graduate of a school that has conferred a degree and diploma to you.

Are dropouts considered alumni?

Yes, alumnus means a person that has attended a particular college. Different schools define the attendance criterion in different ways, some by the amount of coursework and others by the number of completed semesters or quarters. But you certainly do not need a degree from a school to be considered an alumnus.

What is a synonym for the word alumni?

synonyms: alum, alumna, grad, graduate. types: Ivy Leaguer. a student or graduate at an Ivy League school. old boy.

When can you call yourself an alumni?

Collectively, you and everyone you graduated with from your institution are alumni. Alumni is the Latin plural form of a word that originally meant foster son or pupil. Everyone who graduated from your school is a former pupil or “foster son” (or daughter) of that institution.

Can you say alumni if you didn't graduate?

All iterations of the word alumni below are defined as a graduate or former student of a school, college or institution. So, you can be considered an alumnus after having attended a school, even if you didn't graduate from that school.

What makes you an alumni?

The obvious answer is that an alum is a graduate or a longtime attendee of a particular school, college, or university. Aside from the obvious, there are a few different words that can describe a graduate! In modern days, typically alum or alumni are most commonly used.

What is alma mater vs alumni?

It's not really possible for a non-person to be an alum, so the neuter forms of 'alumnum' (singular) and 'alumna' (plural), are unlikely to be used much. Alumni refers to people who have graduated from an institution (most commonly a university) while alma mater is the institution from which a person has graduated.

Can you go to high school reunion if you didn't graduate?

Of course! Reunion is open to all alumni and their guests. The more the merrier!

What is an alumni pool?

As the name suggests, an alumni talent pool is a database made up of former employees who worked for your business. This talent pool includes full-time employees, but you might also want to include independent contractors or part-time employees.

Is alumni a Greek word?

alumnus (n.)

"pupil or graduate of a school," 1640s, from Latin alumnus "a pupil," literally "foster son," vestigial present passive participle of alere "to suckle, nourish" (from PIE root *al- (2) "to grow, nourish"). With ending akin to Greek -omenos. Plural is alumni.

Are graduate students considered alumni?

Of course. If you have a degree, you are an alum. It does not matter if it is undergraduate, graduate, or professional.

What is different alumna and alumni?

Alumna and alumnae are used to describe feminine nouns, like female graduates. Alumnus and alumni are used to describe masculine nouns, like male graduates. Alumni may also be used to describe groups of graduates that contain males and females.

What is the difference between graduate and alumni?

Normally, a 'graduate' is still studying, but at higher levels (Masters or Doctorate). An alumnus/alumna has left the education system.

What is a male graduate called?

Alumnus = a male former pupil of a school, college or university. Alumni = the plural of alumnus, used to refer to a group of male former students or a group of male and female former students.

Is alumna still used?

Alumni is correct for two or more male graduates of a school, and alumnae for female graduates. A male graduate is an alumnus, and a female is an alumna. Because most people do not know any Latin, alumni is often the catch-all word for graduates of either sex, singular or plural.

Can I just say alumn?

If you are speaking of someone who is a graduate of an educational institution, it is alumna, alumni (plural) and alumnus (single). Alumn would be a slang way to refer to that person, but it really isn't standard English.