scholar

[ skol-er ]

noun

1. a learned or erudite person, especially one who has profound knowledge of a particular subject.

   Synonyms: savant

2. a student; pupil.
3. a student who has been awarded a scholarship.

scholar

/ ˈskɒlə /

noun

1. a learned person, esp in the humanities
2. a person, esp a child, who studies; pupil
3. a student of merit at an educational establishment who receives financial aid, esp from an endowment given for such a purpose
4. a school pupil

Derived Forms

• ˈscholarliness, noun
• ˈscholarly, adjective

Other Words From

• scholar·less adjective
• non·scholar noun
• non·scholar·ly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of scholar¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of scholar¹

C14: from Old French escoler, via Late Latin from Latin schola school ¹

Synonym Study

See pupil ¹.

Example Sentences

“For women, love, dating, marriage and childbirth were no longer perceived as refuges of peace and safety, but the site of exposure to male violence and subordination,” feminist scholar Yoon-kim Ji-young wrote in 2020, describing the 4B movement as “the complete severing of any emotional, mental, financial or physical dependence on men.”

From Los Angeles Times

“At the center of young women’s commitment to 4B is the desire to focus on themselves,” feminist scholar Cho Joo-hyun wrote in 2020.

From Los Angeles Times

“They are seeing this as a fulfillment of their prophecies, as vindication of their theology,” said Matthew Taylor, a scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies, who has written a book about this religious movement and the Capitol riot.

From Slate

As legal scholar Matt Waxman has reminded us, FDR’s successor, Harry Truman, went to war in Korea without congressional authorization.

From Salon

A new book from Harvard scholar Keidrick Roy, “American Dark Age: Racial Feudalism and the Rise of Black Liberalism,” lays out their pioneering critique of the enduring power of feudalism on American thought, along with a coherent framework of liberal ideas shaped by their individual and collective lived experiences.

From Salon

Related Words

• academic
• doctor
• intellectual
• philosopher
• professor
• scientist
• student
• teacher