emerita

American  

[ih-mer-i-tuh] / ɪˈmɛr ɪ tə /

adjective

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

   Kate Johnson, Professor Emerita of Music.

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noun

• emeritae
  plural

1. a woman with such status.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• emeritae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of emerita

< Latin, feminine of ēmeritus emeritus

Compare meaning

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

• emerita vs. emeritus

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

emerita

Ph.D, professor of medicine emerita at the Robert Larner, M.D.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

As chair emerita, Harris will not have editorial control over the Headquarters content, according to the announcement, which raises its own questions about accountability and messaging discipline.

From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026

Malinche “was well known in the Chicana community, and we loved her,” said Inés Hernández-Ávila, professor emerita of Native American Studies at UC Davis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026

The author, a professor emerita at Loyola University Chicago, has written not a conventional history, but, a far more subtle enterprise, a history of feeling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

No sooner had the "lady," as Byron was pleased to call her, played her part as decoy, than she was discharged as emerita.

From The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 3 by Ernest Hartley Coleridge

Related Words

• elderly
• resigned