Alumna definition is a girl or woman who has attended or has graduated from a particular school, college, or university. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing quick. Alumnus noun definition and synonyms macmillan dictionary. Consider the way in which the word alumni is used in the following sentence. If we can see all the deserving girls complete their studies without any financial issues, we would have achieved our goals, says sheila mugadimunyiri, pangani girls alumni association steering committee member. Alumni is the plural form of alumnus, obviously meaning a group of male graduates of an institution. If you want to avoid this whole mess but wheres the fun in not showing off your knowledge, use alum in place of alumnus and alumna and alums in. This is also in accordance with ap style, which uses alumnus for a man who has attended a school, alumna for a woman, and alumni for a group of men and. Difference between alumni and alumnus difference between.
Alumni is the plural of alumnus but can also be used to refer to a group of men and woman graduatesformer students. Most standard dictionaries describe alum as informalthat is, suitable for relaxed or conversational usage. Mar 24, 2014 if you want to avoid this whole mess but wheres the fun in not showing off your knowledge, use alum in place of alumnus and alumna and alums in lieu of alumni and alumnae. Latin words construct their different forms using other rules as used in the english language. The graduate center, the city university of new york established in 1961, the graduate center of the city university of new york cuny is devoted primarily to doctoral studies and awards most of cunys doctoral degrees. On lake day 2011, wellesley magazine asked those out enjoying the festivities how they pronounce the word alumnae. I wrote about the words alum and alumni in some of my grammar girl books, ive. The noun alumnus means a male graduate or former student of a particular university, college, or school. John fulton the animal girl, louisiana state univ press, 2007 more than enough, novel, picador usa, 2002 retribution, stories, picador usa, 2001.
Alumni meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. The university of chicago magazine 5235 south harper court, chicago, il 60615 phone. Alumnus meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. Alumnae plural of alumna females that have graduated. Technically, alumni is the masculine plural form of the noun, but it can be used for either a group of mixed gender or a group of men. Maybe youre at an allgirls school, or maybe the boys in the class all. Alumnus, alumna, alumni, and alumnus are all from latin. The group, founded in 2015, with the help of various foundations, sponsors the education of 116 girls almost a third of the student. I consider alumni in the title to be inappropriate. These latin loanwords preserve their original plural forms, and incorrect use of the words abounds because many speakers of english. A fellow equissage alumnus is the massage therapist for cigar, the 1996 horse of the year. But unlike alumnae, which refers to a group of women only, alumni can be gender neutral. Alumni actually is the plural form of alumnus, a latin word that means a graduate or former student of an educational institution. Even though alumni is the plural of the alumnus, which is male, it is used quite often to refer to a group of graduates that are both male and female.
As the previous answers have indicated alumna ae is rarely seen in the uk, except for some old girls associations where they want to show they know the difference. Alumni is the masculine plural, and alumnae is the feminine plural. Alumnus definition of alumnus by the free dictionary. Though the site was launched last march, brodsky said the idea for it dates back to 1995, when he bought the original web address. Jul, 2018 my friend is a grammar geek and will not put her child in something with improper english. Alumni article about alumni by the free dictionary. The singular alumnus refers to one male graduate, alumna refers to one female graduate, and the plural alumnae refers to a group of female graduates. It is also accepted as a term for a malefemale group of former students. An alumna is a female graduate or former student of a particular school. The graduate was a woman, and the title on the page was alumni profile followed by her name.
Youll remember that a couple of weeks ago, i had a piece from neal whitman about homecoming being called hoco, and neal was also kind enough to point out that although i wrote about the words alum and alumni in some of my grammar girl books, ive never covered them on the podcast or on the website, and this would be a good time of year to do so because alumni go to homecoming. As the previous answers have indicated alumnaae is rarely seen in the uk, except for some old girls associations where they want to show they know the difference. Whats up with alumnus, alumna, alumni, and alumnae. A designated alumni search page enables visitors to search a book by title, class year or genre, and also contains links to book written by pulitzer prize winners and u. Alumnus i absolutely love the dictionary, and their weekly teachings about words. Alumni refers to more than one alumnus think of a graduating class. The history of alum, alumnus, alumna, alumni, and alumnae. Alumnus is defined as a graduate of a school, college, or university.
My sisters are both alumnae of atherton high school. Alumnus is a masculine noun whose plural is alumni, and alumna is a feminine noun whose plural is alumnae. Separate, but from the same root, is the adjective almus nourishing, found in the phrase alma mater, a title for a persons home university. And what about the related words alumna, alumnus, and alumnae. Alumnae are important partners in the continued success of the girls club. Alumnus is known as the latin word used for a singular graduate of an institution usually a male. The 1999 alumni of memorial university are invited to attend a luncheon in honor of the retirement of dr. Alumna, alumnae, alumni, alumnusdont confuse them grammarly. If it is confusing to some, the reason is the two words being latin. We used to have alumnus male singular, alumni male plural, alumna female singular and alumnae female.
Change your default dictionary to american english. Note that, strictly speaking, alumnus and alumni are masculine. Alumni is the most common of the four words by more than double. Ap style uses alumnus when referring to a man who has attended a school. Alumni refers to a group of two or more former students of a particular school. It was surprising to me how little money there is in archeology and how. My friend is a grammar geek and will not put her child in something with improper english. Oct 18, 2019 an alum is short for a mail or female graduate, either alumnus masculine or alumna feminine. Thats because latin grammar has a lot more distinctions based on gender than english grammar does. Alumni is the plural of alumnus male and alumna female. The princeton alumni weekly named turing the second most significant alumnus in the history of princeton university, second only to president james madison. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards.
Alum versus alumni grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Ap style alumnus, alumni, alumna, and alumnae writing explained. Although alumnus usually refers to academics, it can also mean a former employee, associate, or member of any organized group. One way to remember the difference between these four words is to think of other words in english with similar endings. Alumnus definition is a person who has attended or has graduated from a particular school, college, or university usually used of a man in the singular but often of men and women in the plural.
Alumnae definition of alumnae by the free dictionary. He has a masters degree in the field of mathematics. Never use the phrase i am an alumni it is incorrect. Definition and synonyms of alumnus from the online english dictionary from macmillan education. Graduates or former students of a particular educational institution. Alumnus definition and meaning collins english dictionary. This week the dictionary looks at the words alumni and alumnus. Ms chastains column, which was published on world net daily, claimed the organisation was touting ms ocasiocortez as a successful girl scout alumni. Alumna is used to refer to a woman graduate or former student.
And check out our books about the english language. Can someone explain the correct use of the terms alumni. The difference between alumnus and alumni is very basic as the latter is the plural form of the former. An alumnus is a male graduate or former student of a particular school. Jun 25, 2008 alumni plural of alumnus people who have attended and graduated. An alumni association is a college or universitys association of former students. But those who object to masculine forms in such cases may prefer the phrase alumni and alumnae or the form alumnaei, which is the choice of many womens colleges. An alum is short for a mail or female graduate, either alumnus masculine or alumna feminine.
Fill in the blank with the correct word, either alumna or alumnus, or alumnae or alumni. The university of chicago magazine issn00419508 is published quarterly by the university of chicago in cooperation with the alumni association. Turns out theres a slightly different word for women. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Unlike alumni, which can refer to a group of male graduates or to a mixedgender group, alumnus is usually reserved for the boys. If you dont know whether the bib is for a future alumnus boy or alumna girl, wed recommend using alum. As an africanamerican ncc alumnus, i remain involved, albeit tangentially, in ncc affairs.
Marge piercy, 57, is a poet and novelist whose long list of books includes gone to soldiers, braided lives, the longings of women, and woman on the edge of time. In accordance with the rules of grammar governing the inflexion of nouns in the romance. Two similar words, both used in daily context, but alumni is used more, and does have a different meaning. Not sure what my point is though just that latinsgreeks use of an s on singular nouns is confusing. Archaeologists and the seductive lure of human rubble by marilyn johnson. Oct 14, 2016 youll remember that a couple of weeks ago, i had a piece from neal whitman about homecoming being called hoco, and neal was also kind enough to point out that although i wrote about the words alum and alumni in some of my grammar girl books, ive never covered them on the podcast or on the website, and this would be a good time of year to do so because alumni go to homecoming. The alumni of a school, college, or university are the people who used to be students. Alumni is a plural noun referring either to a group male graduates or to a group of both male and female graduates. The plural form for graduates and other former matriculated students is alumni. Alternative spelling of alumalumnus a graduate of a college or university archaic a student at a grammar school. Alumni plural of alumnus people who have attended and graduated. Hintus is usually an ending of masculine names and words, such as cassius, jesus and alumnus.
How to use alumna, alumnae, alumni, alumnus correctly. Ap style holds that writers should distinguish between the words alumnus, alumni, alumna, and alumnae. At least, if youre a stickler for using ancient latin in modern english. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing.
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