alumnus

[uh-luhm-nuh s]

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noun, plural a·lum·ni [uh-luhm-nahy, -nee] /əˈlʌm naɪ, -ni/.

a graduate or former student of a specific school, college, or university.

a former associate, employee, member, or the like: He invited all the alumni of the library staff to the party.

Origin of alumnus

1635–45; < Latin: foster son, pupil, equivalent to al- (stem of alere to feed, support) + -u- (< stem-vowel *-o- in interior syllable) + -m(i)nus, orig. passive participial suffix (cf. adult, old), akin to Greek -menos; see phenomenon

Can be confusedalum alumna alumnae alumni alumnus (see usage note at the current entry)

Usage note

Alumnus (in Latin a masculine noun) 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 groups composed of both sexes 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. While not quite equivalent in meaning, the terms graduate and graduates avoid the complexities of the Latin forms and eliminate any need for using a masculine plural form to refer to both sexes.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for alumni

alum, alumna, postgraduate

Examples from the Web for alumni

Contemporary Examples of alumni

A sobering article on gang rape inside a UVA fraternity has Wahoo alumni like myself up in arms.
How UVA Is Failing Its Women
Allison McNearney
November 20, 2014
Everyone wanted to keep Winston on the field, racking up wins and alumni donations.
Hey NFL Fans: Ray Rice Isn’t the Problem. You Are.
Steve Almond
July 24, 2014
And this autumn, alumni across the nation are beginning a new campaign.
The Next Step in the Divestment Fight: Bill McKibben
Bill McKibben
September 21, 2013
So students, and faculty and alumni, will now get a chance to tell those stories, to tell them in urgent and powerful ways.
The Next Step in the Divestment Fight: Bill McKibben
Bill McKibben
September 21, 2013
People close to Eliezer claim its alumni network represents a fertile source of contributions.
Cory Booker’s Rabbis
Peter Beinart
June 13, 2013

Historical Examples of alumni

And yet you probably all make one mistake about me: you take me for the alumni of some university.
Bonaventure
George Washington Cable
Some alumni might be nostalgic for the Gothic structures of their university days.
The Civilization of Illiteracy
Mihai Nadin
The Fisk Idea is an expression often on the lips of its alumni.
The American Missionary -- Volume 54, No. 01, January, 1900
Various
In a number of centers a leading association is that of the alumni of Gallaudet College.
The Deaf
Harry Best
I need not ask you, Alumni, if these two parties exist at Cambridge.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 107, September, 1866
Various

British Dictionary definitions for alumni

alumnus

noun plural -ni (-naɪ)

mainly US and Canadian a graduate of a school, college, etc

Word Origin for alumnus

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

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 alumni

see alumnus.

alumnus

1640s, from Latin alumnus "a pupil," literally "foster son," vestigial present passive participle of alere "to nourish" (see old), with ending akin to Greek -omenos. Plural is alumni. Fem. is alumna (1882), fem. plural alumnae.