laureate

[ lawr-ee-it, lor- ]

noun

1. a person who has been honored for achieving distinction in a particular field or with a particular award:

   a Nobel laureate.

2. poet laureate.

adjective

1. deserving or having special recognition for achievement, as for poetry (often used immediately after the noun that is modified):

   poet laureate; conjurer laureate.

2. having special distinction or recognition in a field:

   the laureate men of science.

3. crowned or decked with laurel as a mark of honor.
4. consisting of or resembling laurel, as a wreath or crown.

laureate

/ ˈlɔːrɪɪt; ˌlɔːrɪˈeɪʃən /

adjective

1. literary.
   crowned with laurel leaves as a sign of honour
2. archaic.
   made of laurel

noun

1. See poet laureate
   short for poet laureate
2. a person honoured with an award for art or science

   a Nobel laureate

3. rare.
   a person honoured with the laurel crown or wreath

Derived Forms

• laureation, noun
• ˈlaureateˌship, noun

Other Words From

• laure·ate·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of laureate¹

1350–1400; Middle English; < Latin laureātus crowned with laurel, equivalent to laure ( us ) of laurel ( laur ( us ) bay tree + -eus -eous ) + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of laureate¹

C14: from Latin laureātus, from laurea laurel

Example Sentences

At that first meeting, activists elected Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov to be the chair for their society.

From The Daily Beast

Elie Wiesel, who was involved with the Irgun Zionist underground, is a 1986 Peace Laureate.

From The Daily Beast

The West awarded him the Nobel prize for literature in 1987 and America made Brodsky its poet laureate in 1991.

From The Daily Beast

Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi supported the Iranian revolution only to have it end her career as a judge.

From The Daily Beast

It was Independent People, by Nobel laureate Haldor Laxness, that put modern Icelandic literature on the global map.

From The Daily Beast

The Laureate is among the English poets evidently the great favorite of our guide: the choice does honor to his head and heart.

From Project Gutenberg

At the Floral Games he who is crowned poet-laureate chooses the Queen, and she crowns him with a wreath of olive leaves.

From Project Gutenberg

Until the appearance of the biography referred to, we had known the Laureate almost wholly through his books.

From Project Gutenberg

Robert Bridges, the present poet-laureate, also deserves especial mention.

From Project Gutenberg

After the death of his friend Southey, the mantle of the Poet Laureate fell upon him.

From Project Gutenberg