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diploma

American  
[dih-ploh-muh] / dɪˈploʊ mə /

noun

plural

diplomas,

plural

diplomata

  1. a document given by an educational institution conferring a degree on a person or certifying that the person has satisfactorily completed a course of study.

  2. a document conferring some honor, privilege, or power.

  3. a public or official document, especially one of historical interest.

    a diploma from Carolingian times.

verb (used with object)

diplomaed, diplomaing

  1. to grant or award a diploma to.

diploma British  
/ dɪˈpləʊmə /

noun

  1. a document conferring a qualification, recording success in examinations or successful completion of a course of study

  2. an official document that confers an honour or privilege

"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

Other Word Forms

  • prediploma noun
  • undiplomaed adjective

Etymology

Origin of diploma

1635–45; < Latin diplōma a letter of recommendation, an official document < Greek díplōma a letter folded double, equivalent to diplō-, variant stem of diploûn to double (derivative of diplóos; diplo- ) + -ma suffix of result

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.