matriculate

[verb muh-trik-yuh-leyt; noun muh-trik-yuh-lit]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR matriculate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), ma·tric·u·lat·ed, ma·tric·u·lat·ing.

to enroll in a college or university as a candidate for a degree.

to register (a coat of arms), used especially in Scottish heraldry.

verb (used without object), ma·tric·u·lat·ed, ma·tric·u·lat·ing.

to be matriculated.

noun

a person who has been matriculated.

Origin of matriculate

1480–90 for earlier sense; < Medieval Latin mātrīculātus (person) listed (for some specific duty), equivalent to mātrīcul(a) list (see matriculant) + -ātus -ate¹

Related formsma·tric·u·la·tion, nounma·tric·u·la·tor, nounre·ma·tric·u·late, verb, re·ma·tric·u·lat·ed, re·ma·tric·u·lat·ing.un·ma·tric·u·lat·ed, adjective

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

Related Words for matriculation

entry, admission, acceptance, enrollment, preparation, training, practice, education, drill

Examples from the Web for matriculation

Contemporary Examples of matriculation

The Atlanta Journal Constitution quotes the letter as saying, “Your matriculation would be a wonderful triumph over adversity.”
A College, a Gun—and a Big Injustice
Stanley Crouch
June 7, 2009

Historical Examples of matriculation

I never was so honest for so long together since my matriculation.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
"Come down, Burton; here's a youth for matriculation," cried the younger.
Confessions Of Con Cregan
Charles James Lever
And she forced on the timorous Prue a quarter as her matriculation fee.
In a Little Town
Rupert Hughes
Fees for an entire course, with matriculation and library, $110.
A New Guide for Emigrants to the West
J. M. Peck
I then wrote home for the matriculation fee ($13), as I had labored there all summer.
The Sylvan Cabin
Edward Smyth Jones

British Dictionary definitions for matriculation

matriculation

noun

the process of matriculating

(in Britain, except Scotland) a former school examination, which was replaced by the General Certificate of Education (Ordinary Level), now superseded by the General Certificate of Secondary Education

matriculate

verb (məˈtrɪkjʊˌleɪt)

to enrol or be enrolled in an institution, esp a college or university

(intr) to attain the academic standard required for a course at such an institution

noun (məˈtrɪkjʊlɪt)

Also called: matriculant a person who has matriculated

Derived Formsmatriculator, noun

Word Origin for matriculate

C16: from Medieval Latin mātrīculāre to register, from mātrīcula, diminutive of matrix list, matrix

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 matriculation

1580s, noun of action from matriculate (v.).

matriculate

1570s, "to admit a student to a college by enrolling his name on the register," from Late Latin matriculatus, past participle of matriculare "to register," from Latin matricula "public register," diminutive of matrix (genitive matricis) "list, roll," also "sources, womb" (see matrix).

The connection of senses in the Latin word seems to be via confusion of Greek metra "womb" (from meter "mother;" see mother (n.1)) and an identical but different Greek word metra meaning "register, lot" (see meter (n.2)). Evidently Latin matrix was used to translate both, though it originally shared meaning with only one. Related: Matriculated; matriculating.