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baccalaureate

[bak-uh-lawr-ee-it, -lor-]
See more synonyms for baccalaureate on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. bachelor's degree.
  2. a religious service held at an educational institution, usually on the Sunday before commencement day.
  3. baccalaureate sermon.
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Origin of baccalaureate

1615–25; < Medieval Latin baccalaureātus, equivalent to baccalaure(us) advanced student, bachelor (for baccalārius (see bachelor), alteration by association with Latin phrase bacca laureus laurel berry) + -ātus -ate1
Related formspost·bac·ca·lau·re·ate, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for baccalaureate

Historical Examples

  • The president preached the Baccalaureate sermon from Gen. 5:24.

    The American Missionary - Volume 52, No. 2, June, 1898

    Various

  • Dr. Beard, our secretary, preached the "baccalaureate sermon."

  • It is the pride of the enterprising "sports" and "sharpers," who represent the baccalaureate degree of every known vice.

    The Little Lady of Lagunitas

    Richard Henry Savage

  • In his baccalaureate sermon the president of Yale offered the graduates some advice which at least they should find stimulating.

    The Fiction Factory

    John Milton Edwards

  • Nothing has shown more clearly the intellectual barrenness of the pulpit than baccalaureate sermons lately delivered.

British Dictionary definitions for baccalaureate

baccalaureate

noun
  1. the university degree of Bachelor or Arts, Bachelor of Science, etc
  2. an internationally recognized programme of study, comprising different subjects, offered as an alternative to a course of A levels in Britain
  3. US a farewell sermon delivered at the commencement ceremonies in many colleges and universities
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Word Origin

C17: from Medieval Latin baccalaureātus, from baccalaureus advanced student, alteration of baccalārius bachelor; influenced in folk etymology by Latin bāca berry + laureus laurel
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 baccalaureate

n.

1620s, "university degree of a bachelor," from Medieval Latin baccalaureatus, from baccalaureus "student with the first degree," altered by a play on words with bacca lauri "laurel berry" (laurels being awarded for academic success).

The Medieval Latin word perhaps ultimately is derived from Latin baculum "staff" (see bacillus), which the young student might carry, but it is more likely just a re-Latinization of bachelor (q.v.) in its academic sense. In modern U.S. usage, the word usually is short for baccalaureate-sermon (1864), a religious farewell address to the graduating class.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper