English 'alumnus' is Latin for 'nursling' or 'foster child,' from 'alere' (to nourish), from PIE *h₂el- (to grow) — preserving the Roman metaphor of education as feeding, where the school (alma mater, 'nourishing mother') rears its students like children.
Definition
A former student or graduate of a particular school, college, or university.
The Full Story
Latin1640swell-attested
From Latin 'alumnus' (a nursling, a foster child, a ward, a pupil), from 'alere' (to nourish, to feed, to cause to grow, to sustain), from PIE *h₂el- (to grow, to nourish, to produce). Themetaphor at the heart of 'alumnus' is educational nourishment: the teacher feeds the student's mind as a nurse feeds the infant's body. Latin 'alere' also produced 'alimentum' (nourishment, food — whence English 'aliment' and 'alimentary'), 'alimony' (nourishment-payment
Did you know?
The phrase 'alma mater' — used for one's former school — literally means 'nourishing mother' in Latin (from 'almus,' nourishing + 'māter,' mother). An 'alumnus' is thus the nursling of the 'alma mater': the student nourished by the school-as-mother. English 'old' is cognate with Latin