Skip to content
word of the day

The word for today is…

emeritus (noun, adjective) –

noun
a person retired from professional life but permitted to retain as an honorary title the rank of the last office held

adjective
1 : holding after retirement an honorary title corresponding to that held last during active service
2 : retired from an office or position – professor emeritus

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology :The adjective emeritus is unusual in two ways: it’s frequently used postpositively (that is, after the noun it modifies), and it has a plural form—emeriti—when it modifies a plural noun in its second sense. If you’ve surmised from these qualities that the word is Latin in origin, you are correct. Emeritus, which is the Latin past participle of the verb emereri, meaning “to serve out one’s term,” was originally used to describe soldiers who had completed their duty. (Emereri is from the prefix e-, meaning “out,” and merere, meaning “to earn, deserve, or serve”—also the source of our English word merit.) By the early 18th century, English speakers were using emeritus as an adjective to refer to professors who had retired from office. The word eventually came to be applied to other professions where a retired member may continue to hold a title in an honorary capacity.

If you enjoyed this BFD word of the day please consider sharing it with your friends and, especially, your children.

Latest