Alumnus
/əˈlʌm.nəs/noun
A male graduate or former student of a school, college, or university.
Did you know?In Latin, alumnus meant a foster child or pupil because education was metaphorically understood as intellectual nourishment; the feminine form is alumna.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂el-
“To nourish or support; a reconstructed root underlying words for feeding and growth”
Classical Latin
Latin
alere
“To nourish, feed, sustain, or bring up”
Classical Latin
Latin
alumnus
“A foster child, pupil, or one brought up and nourished by another”
17th Century
English
alumnus
“A graduate or former student, adopted from Latin”
Modern English
English
alumnus
“A male graduate or former student of an institution”
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