academy

[ uh-kad-uh-mee ]
See synonyms for academy on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural a·cad·e·mies.
  1. a secondary or high school, especially a private one: My daughter goes to a very exclusive academy in Chicago.

  2. a school or college for special instruction or training in a subject: a military academy.

  1. an association or institution for the advancement of art, literature, or science: the National Academy of Arts and Letters.

  2. a group of authorities and leaders in a field of scholarship, art, etc., who are often permitted to dictate standards, prescribe methods, and criticize new ideas.

  3. the Academy,

Origin of academy

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English achademye, achadomye, from Latin Acadēmīa, the name of the public gymnasium near Athens, sacred to the hero Academus, where Plato established his school of philosophy; from Greek Akadēmía, variant of Akadḗmeia, noun use of feminine adjective Akadḗmeios, derivative of Akádēm(os) + -eia adjective suffix; see origin at Academus; see also -y3

Words Nearby academy

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How to use academy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for academy (1 of 2)

academy

/ (əˈkædəmɪ) /


nounplural -mies
  1. an institution or society for the advancement of literature, art, or science

  2. a school for training in a particular skill or profession: a military academy

  1. a secondary school: now used only as part of a name, and often denoting a private school

Origin of academy

1
C16: via Latin from Greek akadēmeia name of the grove where Plato taught, named after the legendary hero Akadēmos

British Dictionary definitions for Academy (2 of 2)

Academy

/ (əˈkædəmɪ) /


nounthe Academy
    • the grove or garden near Athens where Plato taught in the late 4th century bc

    • the school of philosophy founded by Plato

    • the members of this school and their successors

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012