alumnus

[ uh-luhm-nuhs ]

noun

, plural a·lum·ni [uh, -, luhm, -nahy].

1. a graduate or former student of a specific school, college, or university, especially a man:

   As an alumnus of this university myself, I am proud to dedicate its new building.

2. a former associate, employee, member, or the like:

   He invited all the alumni of the library staff to the party.

alumnus

/ əˈlʌmnəs /

noun

1. a graduate of a school, college, etc

Gender Note

Alumnus (in Latin a masculine noun) usually 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 mixed gender groups 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. Some people use the less formal abbreviation alum and its plural alums to avoid the complexities of the Latin forms and their unfamiliar gender inflection. Others use the terms graduate and graduates, though they are not quite equivalent in meaning, to eliminate the use of a masculine plural form to refer to all genders.

Word History and Origins

Origin of alumnus¹

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin: “foster son, pupil,” equivalent to al- (stem of alere “to suckle, feed, support”) + -u- (from stem-vowel *-o- in interior syllable) + -m(i)nus, originally passive participial suffix, akin to Greek -menos; adult ( def ), alimony

Word History and Origins

Origin of alumnus¹

C17: from Latin: nursling, pupil, foster son, from alere to nourish

Example Sentences

She says she met Cosby, a Temple alumnus and big-time donor to the university, in November 2002.

From The Daily Beast

A former House Budget chairman and Fox News alumnus, Kasich was a libertarian leaning fiscal conservative before it was cool.

From The Daily Beast

The best known was Brotherhood alumnus Sayyid Qutb, whom the Egyptian state executed in 1966.

From The Daily Beast

The celebrated nanny college counts as its most famous (if fictional) alumnus Mary Poppins.

From The Daily Beast

Hayes was very much a creature of the left, a proud alumnus of The Nation and In These Times.

From The Daily Beast

Alumnus, al-um′nus, n. one educated at a college is called an alumnus of it:—pl.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a recollection blended of many feelings, that which the recurring Commencement brings to the alumnus.

From Project Gutenberg

The University, however, shares the attachment of the alumnus.

From Project Gutenberg

He didn't look like a Dumbarton Oaks product: I thought he was more likely an alumnus of some private detective agency.

From Project Gutenberg

Some high school alumnus in whose heart there is appreciation of Rome's gift to us might present a book to his Alma Mater.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• alum
• graduate