alumnus

[ uh-luhm-nuhs ]

noun

, plural a·lum·ni [uh, -, luhm, -nahy].

1. a graduate or former student of a specific school, college, or university, especially a man:

   As an alumnus of this university myself, I am proud to dedicate its new building.

2. a former associate, employee, member, or the like:

   He invited all the alumni of the library staff to the party.

alumnus

/ əˈlʌmnəs /

noun

1. a graduate of a school, college, etc

Gender Note

Alumnus (in Latin a masculine noun) usually 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 mixed gender groups 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. Some people use the less formal abbreviation alum and its plural alums to avoid the complexities of the Latin forms and their unfamiliar gender inflection. Others use the terms graduate and graduates, though they are not quite equivalent in meaning, to eliminate the use of a masculine plural form to refer to all genders.

Word History and Origins

Origin of alumnus¹

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin: “foster son, pupil,” equivalent to al- (stem of alere “to suckle, feed, support”) + -u- (from stem-vowel *-o- in interior syllable) + -m(i)nus, originally passive participial suffix, akin to Greek -menos; adult ( def ), alimony

Word History and Origins

Origin of alumnus¹

C17: from Latin: nursling, pupil, foster son, from alere to nourish

Example Sentences

The “SNL” star broke her silence after blowing up the Tesla chief executive’s “butt hurt” reaction to “SNL” alumnus Dana Carvey’s impression of him in Saturday’s post-election episode.

From Los Angeles Times

Another alumnus wrote that he scraped off a 47 sticker from his car rear window.

From Los Angeles Times

An alumnus from the class of 1996 messaged me to say that she had been thinking about getting a “47” tattoo but has had second thoughts since Trump’s election.

From Los Angeles Times

Elsewhere a long table populated with party strategists, consultants and media figures such as Puck founding partner Baratunde Thurston and “The View” alumnus Abby Huntsman debated the merits of red and blue mirages, in front of a classic red barn.

From Salon

They knew that Schwarzman and another Yale alumnus, Steve Mnuchin, the future treasury secretary, had indeed foreclosed on properties whose residents had been hoodwinked into over-leveraging their purchases in ways that doomed their ownership, as I recounted in the New Republic a few months after confronting him.

From Salon

Related Words

• alum
• graduate