emeritus

American  

[ih-mer-i-tuhs] / ɪˈmɛr ɪ təs /

adjective

1. retired or honorably discharged from active professional duty, but retaining the title of one's office or position.

   dean emeritus of the graduate school;

   editor in chief emeritus.

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noun

emeriti plural

1. an emeritus professor, minister, etc.

emeritus British  

/ ɪˈmɛrɪtəs /

adjective

1. (usually postpositive) retired or honourably discharged from full-time work, but retaining one's title on an honorary basis

   a professor emeritus

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Usage

What does emeritus mean? Emeritus describes someone who has retired or been honorably discharged from a specific position but allowed to retain their title because of their high achievements. For example, a distinguished professor at a university may be awarded with the title professor emeritus upon their retirement. An emeritus is a person who has retired and has been awarded the title, as Today’s guest speaker is an emeritus from Harvard. Emeritus comes from Latin, so the word has a feminine form—emerita. However, the feminine form is rarely used. Emeritus is commonly considered gender neutral. The plural form of emeritus is emeriti, so a group of retired professors may be referred to as professors emeriti. You may also notice that when used as an adjective, the word is placed after the noun. The title emeritus was first used in academia to describe professors who were retired from their position (professor emeritus). The word is now used for other positions, such as dean emeritus or president emeritus. Emeritus is also used in other professions. For example, it can be used to describe retired religious leaders like rabbis (rabbi emeritus) or bishops (bishop emeritus), as well as certain government positions. Example: Upon her retirement, Lucinda was awarded the title of professor emeritus for her outstanding work in the field.

Etymology

Origin of emeritus

First recorded in 1785–95; from Latin ēmeritus “fully earned,” past participle of ēmerēre “to fully earn,” from ē- e- ¹ + merēre “to earn”; cf. merit

Compare meaning

How does emeritus compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• emerita vs. emeritus

Explanation

An emeritus is a retired college professor or minister. When a professor stops teaching, she might be given the title of emeritus, which basically means she can still be remembered as a successful professor. The word emeritus, pronounced "eh-MER-ih-tus," is Latin, originally meaning "veteran soldier." The honorary adjective is most often used with professor, but it applies to other professions whose retirees continue to hold their title, like ministers. The word emeritus usually goes after the job title, but it can also come before, like emeritus editor.

Example Sentences

Jan Brueckner, an emeritus economics professor at the University of California, Irvine, predicted that airlines would continue to offer "basic economy" fares originally unveiled to compete with Spirit and other budget carriers.

From Barron's • May 9, 2026

A professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he wrote or edited nearly 50 books and worked on documentaries for PBS, Time-Life and the BBC.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

"The results are a surprise. They turn our understanding of the evolution of the eye and the brain upside down," says Dan-E Nilsson, professor emeritus in sensory biology at Lund University.

From Science Daily • Apr. 27, 2026

Mr. Mandelbaum is an emeritus professor of American foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and author of “The American Way of Foreign Policy,” from which this essay is adapted.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

The little child who looks wonderingly on his grandfather’s watch in the picture is now the veteran Sheriff emeritus of Perth.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 2 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis

Related Words

• discharged
• retiring