scholar
Americannoun
-
a learned or erudite person, especially one who has profound knowledge of a particular subject.
- Synonyms:
- savant
-
a student; pupil.
-
a student who has been awarded a scholarship.
noun
-
a learned person, esp in the humanities
-
a person, esp a child, who studies; pupil
-
a student of merit at an educational establishment who receives financial aid, esp from an endowment given for such a purpose
-
a school pupil
Related Words
See pupil 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of scholar
First recorded before 1000; from Late Latin scholāris, equivalent to Latin schol(a) school 1 + -āris -ar 1; replacing Middle English scoler(e), Old English scolere, from Late Latin, as above
Explanation
Someone who learns is a scholar, though the word also means someone with a lot of knowledge in one subject. If you know a lot about books, you could be called a literary scholar. It doesn't take a Latin scholar to understand the word scholar. It probably reminds you of school, scholastic, and scholarship. That's because they all share the Latin root schola which means school. A scholar in the academic sense usually has his or her area of specialty in the humanities as opposed to the sciences.
Vocabulary lists containing scholar
Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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The Renaissance and Early Modern European History - Introductory
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Dwight D. Eisenhower, "The Military-Industrial Complex" (1961)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“We are reluctant to admit that the Ukrainians are now probably the world leaders on both drone offense and defense,” said Eliot Cohen, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
Working alongside USF postdoctoral scholar Pierre Kawak and doctoral student Harshad Bhapkar, Simmons modeled how hundreds of thousands of atoms behave inside reinforced rubber.
From Science Daily • May 13, 2026
A 2024 report by North Korea scholar Martyn Williams suggested many phones are produced by Chinese firms and rebranded for the North Korean market.
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
During onstage comments at the gala, Getty Research Institute presidential scholar Sandra Jackson-Dumont discussed the massive impact Saar has had on the art world.
From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2026
“I say, Pip, old chap!” cried Joe, opening his blue eyes wide, “what a scholar you are! An’t you?”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
