faculty

[ fak-uhl-tee ]

noun

, plural fac·ul·ties.

1. an ability, natural or acquired, for a particular kind of action:

   a faculty for making friends easily.

   Synonyms: skill, potential, knack, aptitude, capacity

2. one of the powers of the mind, as memory, reason, or speech:

   Though very sick, he is in full possession of all his faculties.

3. an inherent capability of the body:

   the faculties of sight and hearing.

4. exceptional ability or aptitude:

   a president with a faculty for management.

5. Education.
   1. the entire teaching and administrative force of a university, college, or school.
   2. one of the departments of learning, as theology, medicine, or law, in a university.
   3. the teaching body, sometimes with the students, in any of these departments.
6. the members of a learned profession:

   the medical faculty.

7. a power or privilege conferred by the state, a superior, etc.:

   The police were given the faculty to search the building.

8. Ecclesiastical. a dispensation, license, or authorization.

faculty

/ ˈfækəltɪ /

noun

1. one of the inherent powers of the mind or body, such as reason, memory, sight, or hearing
2. any ability or power, whether acquired or inherent
3. a conferred power or right
4. 1. a department within a university or college devoted to a particular branch of knowledge
   2. the staff of such a department
   3. all the teaching staff at a university, college, school, etc
5. all members of a learned profession
6. archaic.
   occupation

Other Words From

• inter·facul·ty noun plural interfaculties adjective
• pro·facul·ty adjective
• under·facul·ty noun plural underfaculties

Word History and Origins

Origin of faculty¹

1350–1400; Middle English faculte < Anglo-French, Middle French < Latin facultāt- (stem of facultās ) ability, power, equivalent to facil ( is ) easy ( facile ) + -tāt- -ty ²; facility

Word History and Origins

Origin of faculty¹

C14 (in the sense: department of learning): from Latin facultās capability; related to Latin facilis easy

Synonym Study

See ability.

Example Sentences

“The board saw us dropping in the rankings and said, We’ve got to stabilize the ship,” said Danaya Wright, a law professor who served until May as the faculty representative on the board.

From New York Times

DIS allows students in FSU's Honors Program to work one-on-one with faculty mentors in an open-ended, hands-on research experience and would allow Hartman to be more involved with mathematical modeling.

From Science Daily

Benítez says that the legacy of de Waal was a main reason that drew her to join the faculty at Emory, where she feels that she is walking in his footsteps.

From Science Daily

A diverse team of researchers that included graduate and undergraduate students contributed to the paper, along with faculty and a postdoctoral fellowship researcher.

From Science Daily

Some faculty and students, for instance, want to eliminate police from campus entirely and use trained civilian mediators instead to address problems — using outside law enforcement to handle serious crimes.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• department
• institute
• personnel
• staff
• university