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What Does Alumni Mean?
a·lum·nus
[uh-luhm-nuh s] - Pronunciation
Key
–noun, plural [-nahy, -nee]
Pronunciation Key
1. a graduate or former student of a specific school, college,
or university.
2. a former associate, employee, member, or the like: He
invited all the alumni of the library staff to the party.
[Origin: 1635–45; < L: foster
son, pupil, equiv. to al- (s. of alere
to feed, support) + -u- (< stem-vowel *-o-
in interior syllable) + -m(i)nus, orig. passive
participial suffix (cf. ADULT, OLD),
akin to Gk -menos; see PHENOMENON]
—Usage
note ALUMNUS (in Latin a masculine noun) refers
to a male graduate or former student; the plural is ALUMNI.
An ALUMNA (in Latin a feminine noun) refers to a female graduate
or former student; the plural is ALUMNAE. Traditionally, the
masculine plural ALUMNI has been used for groups composed
of both sexes and is still widely so used: the alumni
of Indiana University. Sometimes, to avoid any suggestion
of sexism, both terms are used for mixed groups: the alumni/alumnae
of Indiana University or the alumni and alumnae of
Indiana University. While not quite equivalent in meaning,
the terms graduate and graduates avoid the
complexities of the Latin forms and eliminate any need for
using a masculine plural form to refer to both sexes.
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