diploma

[dih-ploh-muh]

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.

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for diploma

Contemporary Examples

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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples

"That don't seem to line up with the doctor's diploma," commented Weary.
Chip, of the Flying U
B. M. Bower
He's right out of medical school and is just as fresh as his diploma.
The Depot Master
Joseph C. Lincoln
I think I saw a German diploma amongst the papers you forwarded to our committee?
One Of Them
Charles James Lever
If a popular vote had been necessary, not one of them would yet have her diploma.
The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV
Various
"Tell us," said Phyllis laboriously, "about diploma——" and there it stuck.
Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol 150, February 9, 1916
Various

British Dictionary definitions for diploma

diploma

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

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

n.

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

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Related Words

Examples from the Web for diploma

Contemporary Examples

The “doctorate” Duke claims is from an anti-Semitic Ukranian “diploma mill” as described by the State Department.

This is not the case, but the reality is worse: losing access to a diploma and getting kicked out of school.

This formula excludes students who take longer than four years to earn their diploma, and GEDs and other special diplomas.

The Palestinians who do manage to receive a diploma, against all odds, are faced with yet another challenge.

He said he already had his diploma and was studying at a community college to be an electrician.

Historical Examples

"That don't seem to line up with the doctor's diploma," commented Weary.

He's right out of medical school and is just as fresh as his diploma.

I think I saw a German diploma amongst the papers you forwarded to our committee?

If a popular vote had been necessary, not one of them would yet have her diploma.

"Tell us," said Phyllis laboriously, "about diploma——" and there it stuck.

diploma

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for diploma

n.

Origin of diploma