alma mater
See also: Alma Mater
English edit
Etymology edit
From Latin alma māter (literally “nourishing mother”). Derives from the full name ("Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna") of the oldest European university, the University of Bologna, founded in 1088.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
alma mater (plural almae matres or alma maters)
- A school, college, or university which a person has graduated from or attended.
- 2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Evesham (1870)”, in RAIL, number 947, page 58:
- I’m in the place where I grew up, where my alma mater is.
- A school’s anthem or song.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
graduated school
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Dutch edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin alma māter (“feeding mother”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
alma mater f (plural almae matres or alma maters)
- alma mater (university one attended, especially one from which one has graduated)
Latin edit
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈal.ma ˈmaː.ter/, [ˈäɫ̪mä ˈmäːt̪ɛr]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈal.ma ˈma.ter/, [ˈälmä ˈmäːt̪er]
Noun edit
alma māter f (genitive almae mātris); third declension
- (Ancient Rome) mother goddess
- (Medieval Christianity) Virgin Mary
Declension edit
First-declension adjective with a third-declension noun.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | alma māter | almae mātrēs |
Genitive | almae mātris | almārum mātrum |
Dative | almae mātrī | almīs mātribus |
Accusative | almam mātrem | almās mātrēs |
Ablative | almā mātre | almīs mātribus |
Vocative | alma māter | almae mātrēs |
Portuguese edit
Etymology edit
Unadapted borrowing from Latin alma māter.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
alma mater f (invariable)
- a person who provides for another
- homeland (place where one was born)
- alma mater (school or college from which an individual has graduated)
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin alma māter.
Noun edit
alma mater f (plural alma mater)
Further reading edit
- “alma mater”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014