Alumnus

The Latin noun alumnus means “foster son” or “pupil”

and is derived from the verb alere "to nourish".
Pictured: Lorado Taft's Alma Mater in Illinois.

An alumnus (/əˈlʌmnəs/; masculine) or an

alumna (/əˈlʌmnə/; feminine) of a college,
university, or other school is a former
student who has either attended or
graduated in some fashion from the
institution. The word is Latin and simply
means student. The plural is alumni
(/əˈlʌmnaɪ/) for men and mixed groups
and alumnae (/əˈlʌmniː/) for women. The
term is not synonymous with "graduate";
one can be an alumnus without
graduating. (Burt Reynolds, alumnus but
not graduate of Florida State, is an
example.) An alumnus can also be and is
more recently expanded to include a
former employee of an organization[1] and
it may also apply to a former member,
contributor, or inmate.[2][3]
Etymology
The Latin noun alumnus means "foster
son" or "pupil". It is derived from PIE *h₂el-
(grow, nourish), and is closely related to
the Latin verb alo "to nourish".[4] Separate,
but from the same root, is the adjective
almus "nourishing", found in the phrase
Alma Mater, a title for a person's home
university.

In Latin, alumnus is a legal term (Roman

law) to describe a child placed in
fosterage.[5] According to John Boswell,
the word "is nowhere defined in relation to
status, privilege, or obligation."[6] Citing the
research of John Boswell, who studied the
many inscriptions about alumni, Boswell
concluded that it referred to exposed
children who were taken into a household
where they were "regarded as somewhere
between an heir and a slave, partaking in
different ways of both categories." Despite
the warmth of feelings between the parent
and child, "an alumnus might be treated
both as a beloved child and as a
household servant."[7]

Usage
An alumnus or alumna is a former student
and most often a graduate of an
educational institution (school, college,
university).[8] According to the United
States Department of Education, the term
alumnae is used in conjunction with either
women's colleges[9] or a female group of
students. The term alumni is used in
conjunction with either men's colleges, a
male group of students, or a mixed group
of students:

In accordance with the rules of

grammar governing the
inflexion of nouns in the
Romance languages, the
masculine plural alumni is
 correctly used for groups
composed of both sexes: the
alumni of Princeton
University.[10]

The term is sometimes informally

shortened to "alum" (optional plural
"alums").[11]

Alumni reunions are popular events at

many institutions. They are usually
organized by alumni associations and are
often social occasions for fundraising.

See also
 Category:Alumni by educational
institution

References
1. "The State Of Corporate Alumni : 2017
Survey Results" . EnterpriseAlumni -
Large Organization Alumni & Retiree
Management. 2017-10-02. Retrieved
2018-10-29.
2. "Alumni – Definition from the Free
Merriam Webster Dictionary" .
Merriam-webster.com. 2010-08-13.
Retrieved 2011-02-15. "1: A person
who has attended or has graduated
from a particular school, college, or
university. 2: a person who is a former
member, employee, contributor, or
inmate"
3. "Alumnus – definition of alumnus by
Macmillan dictionary" .
Macmillandictionary.com. Retrieved
2011-02-15. "Someone who was a
student at a particular school, college,
or university"
 4. Merriam-Webster: alumnus ...
5. For example, Digest 40, 2, 14
6. Boswell 1988, pp. 116.
7. Boswell 1988, pp. 117–119.
8. The American Heritage Dictionary of
the English Language
9. "Archived: Women's Colleges in the
United States: History, Issues, and
Challenges" . Ed.gov. Archived from
the original on 2006-08-15. Retrieved
2011-02-15.
10. "alumni – Definitions from
Dictionary.com" .
Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved
2011-02-15.
11. "alum." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v
1.0.1). Based on the Random House
Unabridged Dictionary, © Random
House, Inc. 2006. 1 December 2006.
Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/brows
e/alum

Bibliography
Boswell, John (1988). The Kindness of
Strangers:The Abandonment of Children
in Western Europe from Late Antiquity to
the Renaissance. New York: Pantheon.
ISBN 9780226067124.

External links
 The dictionary definition of alumnus at
Wiktionary

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