diploma
/dɪˈpləʊmə
/noun
1A certificate awarded by an educational establishment to show that someone has successfully completed a course of study.For more than a century the department of education has collected data on the number of high-school diplomas awarded each year....
- His numerous academic awards included diplomas in social studies and sociology.
- Both artists continued their studies resulting in diplomas in Adult Education for the former and Arts Management for the latter.
2 historical An official document or charter.
Origin
Mid 17th century (in the sense 'state paper'): via Latin from Greek diplōma 'folded paper', from diploun 'to fold', from diplous 'double'.
A diploma was originally a general word for a ‘state paper’. It came via Latin from Greek diplōma ‘folded paper’, from diploun ‘to fold’, from diplous ‘double’. Diplomatic (early 18th century) originally meant ‘relating to original or official documents’.