bachelor's
[bach-uh-lerz, bach-lerz]
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bachelor
[bach-uh-ler, bach-ler]
- an unmarried man.
- a person who has been awarded a bachelor's degree.
- a fur seal, especially a young male, kept from the breeding grounds by the older males.
- Also called bachelor-at-arms. a young knight who followed the banner of another.
- Also called household knight. a landless knight.
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Origin of bachelor
1250–1300; Middle English bacheler < Old French < Vulgar Latin *baccalār(is) farm hand; akin to Late Latin baccalāria piece of land, orig. plural of *baccalārium dairy farm, equivalent to *baccālis of cows (bacca, variant of Latin vacca cow + -ālis -al1) + -ārium place
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
bachelor
- an unmarried man
- (as modifier)a bachelor flat
- a person who holds the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Science, etc
- the degree itself
- Also called: bachelor-at-arms (in the Middle Ages) a young knight serving a great noble
- bachelor seal a young male seal, esp a fur seal, that has not yet mated
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French bacheler youth, squire, from Vulgar Latin baccalāris (unattested) farm worker, of Celtic origin; compare Irish Gaelic bachlach peasant
usage
Gender-neutral form: single person
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 bachelor's
bachelor
n.
c.1300, "young man;" also "youthful knight, novice in arms," from Old French bacheler (11c.) "knight bachelor," a young squire in training for knighthood, of uncertain origin, perhaps from Medieval Latin baccalarius "vassal farmer," one who helps or tends a baccalaria "section of land." Or from Latin baculum "a stick," because the squire would practice with a staff, not a sword. Meaning evolved from "knight in training" to "young unmarried man" (early 14c.). Bachelor party as a pre-wedding ritual is from 1882.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper