alumnus
[uh-luhm-nuh s]
- 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.
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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
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. 2018
Examples from the Web for alumni
Contemporary Examples
A sobering article on gang rape inside a UVA fraternity has Wahoo alumni like myself up in arms.
Everyone wanted to keep Winston on the field, racking up wins and alumni donations.
And this autumn, alumni across the nation are beginning a new campaign.
So students, and faculty and alumni, will now get a chance to tell those stories, to tell them in urgent and powerful ways.
People close to Eliezer claim its alumni network represents a fertile source of contributions.
Historical Examples
And yet you probably all make one mistake about me: you take me for the alumni of some university.
BonaventureGeorge Washington Cable
Some alumni might be nostalgic for the Gothic structures of their university days.
The Civilization of IlliteracyMihai Nadin
The Fisk Idea is an expression often on the lips of its alumni.
In a number of centers a leading association is that of the alumni of Gallaudet College.
The DeafHarry Best
This march ended at Memorial Hall, where the alumni dinner was served.
Up From Slavery: An AutobiographyBooker T. Washington
alumnus
- mainly US and Canadian a graduate of a school, college, etc
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for alumni
n.
see alumnus.
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alumnus
n.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper