faculty

[ fak-uhl-tee ]
See synonyms for: facultyfaculties on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural fac·ul·ties.
  1. an ability, natural or acquired, for a particular kind of action: a faculty for making friends easily.

  2. one of the powers of the mind, as memory, reason, or speech: Though very sick, he is in full possession of all his faculties.

  1. an inherent capability of the body: the faculties of sight and hearing.

  2. exceptional ability or aptitude: a president with a faculty for management.

  3. Education.

    • the entire teaching and administrative force of a university, college, or school.

    • one of the departments of learning, as theology, medicine, or law, in a university.

    • the teaching body, sometimes with the students, in any of these departments.

  4. the members of a learned profession: the medical faculty.

  5. a power or privilege conferred by the state, a superior, etc.: The police were given the faculty to search the building.

  6. Ecclesiastical. a dispensation, license, or authorization.

Origin of faculty

1
1350–1400; Middle English faculte<Anglo-French, Middle French <Latin facultāt- (stem of facultās) ability, power, equivalent to facil(is) easy (see facile) + -tāt--ty2; cf. facility

synonym study For faculty

1. See ability.

Other words for faculty

Other words from faculty

  • in·ter·fac·ul·ty, noun, plural in·ter·fac·ul·ties, adjective
  • pro·fac·ul·ty, adjective
  • un·der·fac·ul·ty, noun, plural un·der·fac·ul·ties.

Words Nearby faculty

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use faculty in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for faculty

faculty

/ (ˈfækəltɪ) /


nounplural -ties
  1. one of the inherent powers of the mind or body, such as reason, memory, sight, or hearing

  2. any ability or power, whether acquired or inherent

  1. a conferred power or right

    • a department within a university or college devoted to a particular branch of knowledge

    • the staff of such a department

    • mainly US and Canadian all the teaching staff at a university, college, school, etc

  2. all members of a learned profession

  3. archaic occupation

Origin of faculty

1
C14 (in the sense: department of learning): from Latin facultās capability; related to Latin facilis easy

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