alumnusn.
/əˈlʌmnəs/, U.S. /əˈləmnəs/ΚΠ
1602 A. Copley Another Let. to Dis-iesuited Kinseman 53 Neither was I an Alumnus of the Colledge, being the Popes pensioner.
a1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1645 (1955) II. 291 We..saw an Italian Comedy Acted by their Alumni before the Cardinals.
1696 S. Sewall Diary 12 Oct. (1973) I. 357 Lt Govr...promis'd his Interposition for them as become such an Alumnus to such an Alma Mater.
1780 Monthly Rev. Mar. 194 All ‘the babes and sucklings’ (the Alumni) of the true, old fanatic nurse.
1815 in Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc. (1890) 2nd Ser. 5 180 The oldest alumnus at Com[mencement] of whom I heard was Mr. Henry Hill.
1853 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 643 Two sorrowful, whippable alumni stood each beside a ‘tree of knowledge’.
2. Originally U.S.
a. A former pupil or student (typically male) of a particular school, university, etc.; a graduate of a particular seat of learning.The singular alumnus almost always refers to a male, but the plural alumni is often used to refer to graduates of either sex.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > [noun] > former pupil or student
man1573
alumnus1800
alumna1843
alum1877
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > former pupil
alumnus1800
alumna1843
old boy1857
man1866
old girl1875
society > education > educational administration > university administration > taking degree or graduation > [noun] > graduate
graduate1479
licentiate1489
alumnus1800
grad1871
1800 Maryland Gaz. 20 Nov. At the same time Messrs. Charles Alexander,..John Shaw and Carlisle F. Whiling, alumni of St. John's college, were admitted to the degree of master of arts.
1807 Caledonian Mercury 29 June J. McLachlan, Esq. of Calcutta, a native of Glasgow, and an Alumnus of that University, has presented to the Hunterian Museum two silver medals.
1843 M. Hopkins in B. H. Hall Coll. College Words (1851) 7 So far as I know, the Society of the Alumni of Williams College was the first association of the kind in this country... It was formed September 5th, 1821.
1874 Rep. Commissioner Educ. 1873 (U.S.) 181 The trustees and alumni have built and furnished a new boarding-hall.
1906 Pall Mall Gaz. 22 Jan. 6 Two thousand alumni of the University ‘processionised’, carrying red flags and uttering cries.
1947 Life 18 Aug. 32/2 Although Indians now comprise 45% of the student body, alumni still call their school the ‘Eton of India’.
1974 R. A. Caro Power Broker i. ii. 43 He realized the extent of its fund-raising efforts among alumni, traditional fountainhead of football funds.
2010 Vanity Fair May 108/2 The two young men moved into a Baltimore residence with a fellow Yale alumnus.
b. colloquial. In extended use: a former member of any group; an ex-member of a team, band, organization, etc.
ΚΠ
1914 Amer. Mag. Sept. 42/1 You may not believe it, Jim, but I am an alumnus of the Homeburg band.
1948 N.Y. Times 9 May v. 5/2 Kirby Highbe, another Dodger alumnus, came rushing to Lombardi's relief.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 39 Dick Duff is a Leaf alumnus who has scored 17 goals for Montreal Canadiens this season.
1972 Radio Times 1 June 11/1 An alumnus of the Mike Westbrook band, he's recently taken to fronting his own ensembles.
1990 Nation (N.Y.) 19 Nov. 601/2 An alumnus of the Merrill Lynch gang that was doing..well with brokered deposits and junk bonds.
2003 Independent 23 June (Review section) 5/1 Virgin Megastores Radio is probably the best-regarded of all the in-stores, with DJ alumni now working at stations such as XFM and Kiss.
Compounds
C1. In plural (in sense 2).
a. General attributive.
ΚΠ
1825 Christian Advocate June 276/1 The Trustees of Princeton College have resolved to solicit from the Alumni of the College contributions to a charitable fund, to be called the ‘Alumni Fund’.
1895 Cent. Mag. Sept. 794/2 How often at an alumni banquet is intellectual supremacy in college life praised?
1896 Cosmopolitan Feb. 440/2 At the alumni dinners of colleges..he found himself an honored guest.
1906 Springfield (Mass.) Weekly Republican 28 June 10 Tuesday was alumni day at Yale, when hundreds of old graduates..gathered in alumni hall.
1988 Oxf. Today 1 1/1 This is the first appearance of the University alumni magazine, Oxford Today.
2002 Colgate Scene (Colgate Univ.) Jan. 26/2 Alan plans to attend the annual alumni game at Colgate on Feb 12.
b.
alumni association n. = alumni society n.
ΚΠ
1826 N.-Y. Spectator 27 Oct. 3/4 In the opinion of this meeting, it is expedient to form an association, to be called the Alumni Association of Nassau Hall.
1921 D. M. Stephens Old Allegheny 51 The Alumni Association, as their gift to the celebration, planned to hold a pageant.
2011 Bristol Evening Post (Nexis) 19 Aug. 8 Bristol Port Company..has..sponsored the project and the University's Alumni Association is funding the costs of travelling to this year's competition.
alumni society n. an association of the former pupils or students of a particular seat of learning, used to organize events, circulate newsletters, etc.
ΚΠ
1827 N.-Y. Spectator 21 Sept. Alumni Society of Yale College.
1977 J. Esherick in S. Kostof Architect 242 Shortly after he became Dean the architectural alumni society at Penn published a ‘Book of the School’.
2003 Guardian 19 May c39/3 This important post will work with the University's alumni,..manage the day-to-day administration of the alumni society, [etc.].
C2. Chiefly U.S. General attributive in singular (in sense 2).
ΚΠ
1830 Reg. Pennsylvania 16 Oct. 250/1 The Alumnus degree of Master of Arts was conferred on Richard Armstrong.
1843 M. Hopkins Addr. delivered before Soc. of Alumni Williams Coll. 28 Last year, for the first time, the voice of an Alumnus orator was heard at Harvard.
1908 New Orleans Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 61 489 He has been one of the earnest workers for alumnus organization.
1994 Guardian (Nexis) 5 Nov. t56 There are flags from his old US universities on the wall,..and alumnus magazines from the 1920s on the bookshelves.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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