diploma

[ dih-ploh-muh ]

/ dɪˈploʊ mə /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR diploma ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural di·plo·mas, Latin di·plo·ma·ta [dih-ploh-muh-tuh] /dɪˈploʊ mə tə/.

a document given by an educational institution conferring a degree on a person or certifying that the person has satisfactorily completed a course of study.

a document conferring some honor, privilege, or power.

a public or official document, especially one of historical interest: a diploma from Carolingian times.

verb (used with object), di·plo·maed, di·plo·ma·ing.

to grant or award a diploma to.

Nearby words

diplogenesis, diploic, diploic vein, diploid, diploidy, diploma, diploma mill, diplomacy, diplomat, diplomate, diplomatic

Origin of diploma

1635–45; < Latin diplōma a letter of recommendation, an official document < Greek díplōma a letter folded double, equivalent to diplō-, variant stem of diploûn to double (derivative of diplóos; see diplo-) + -ma suffix of result

Related formspre·di·plo·ma, nounun·di·plo·maed, adjective

Can be confusedcertificate degree diploma license

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

Examples from the Web for diploma

The “doctorate” Duke claims is from an anti-Semitic Ukranian “diploma mill” as described by the State Department.
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence|Jason Berry|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is not the case, but the reality is worse: losing access to a diploma and getting kicked out of school.
The University Of New Orleans’ Cigarette Ban Is Total BS|Chloé Valdary|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This formula excludes students who take longer than four years to earn their diploma, and GEDs and other special diplomas.
The Daily Beast's Top High Schools 2014: Methodology|Brandy Zadrozny|August 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Palestinians who do manage to receive a diploma, against all odds, are faced with yet another challenge.
The Not-So-Bright Future of Palestine's Class of 2013|Maysoon Zayid|June 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST

He said he already had his diploma and was studying at a community college to be an electrician.
I Tackled a School Gunman|Shanley Rhodes|December 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
"I forgot how long it takes to get a diploma," he said, walking away again.
Rose in Bloom|Louisa May Alcott
How appropriate that she shares in the diploma that I doubly value for her sake!
The Chautauquan, Vol. III, January 1883|The Chautauquan Literary and Scientific Circle
They unanimously elected me an Academician, and I have received the diploma.
Art in England|Dutton Cook
Whether Biscuit or his mother was prouder of the diploma when it came, would have been hard to tell.
Sube Cane|Edward Bellamy Partridge
If a popular vote had been necessary, not one of them would yet have her diploma.
The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV|Various

British Dictionary definitions for diploma

diploma

/ (dɪˈpləʊmə) /

noun

a document conferring a qualification, recording success in examinations or successful completion of a course of study

an official document that confers an honour or privilege

Word Origin for diploma

C17: from Latin: official letter or document, literally: letter folded double, from Greek; see diplo-

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 diploma

diploma

1640s, "state paper, official document," from Latin diploma, from Greek diploma "license, chart," originally "paper folded double," from diploun "to double, fold over," from diploos "double" (see diploid) + -oma. Specific academic sense is 1680s in English.

diploma

noun, plural di·plo·mas, Latin di·plo·ma·ta [dih-ploh-muh-tuh] /dɪˈploʊ mə tə/.

verb (used with object), di·plo·maed, di·plo·ma·ing.

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Origin of diploma

Examples from the Web for diploma

British Dictionary definitions for diploma

diploma

noun

Word Origin for diploma

Word Origin and History for diploma

diploma