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alumna

[uh-luhm-nuh]
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noun, plural a·lum·nae [uh-luhm-nee, -nahy] /əˈlʌm ni, -naɪ/.
  1. a woman who is a graduate or former student of a specific school, college, or university.
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Origin of alumna

1880–85, Americanism; < Latin: foster daughter, pupil; feminine of alumnus
Can be confusedalum alumna alumnae alumni alumnus (see usage note at alumnus)

Usage note

See alumnus.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

alumpostgraduate

Examples from the Web for alumnae

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Up to 1876, for example, ninety per cent of the alumnae had married.

  • The Wellington banner, a gift from the alumnae, was also of silk in the soft blue which every Wellington girl loved.

  • Then there were addresses by alumnae students, or else speakers from abroad chosen for some distinction in authorship.

British Dictionary definitions for alumnae

alumna

noun plural -nae (-niː)
  1. mainly US and Canadian a female graduate of a school, college, etc
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Word Origin

C19: feminine of alumnus
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

Word Origin and History for alumnae

n.

see alumnus.

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alumna

n.

see alumnus.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper