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alma mater - 6 dictionary results

al⋅ma ma⋅ter

[ahl-muh mah-ter, al-; al-muh mey-ter]
–noun
1. a school, college, or university at which one has studied and, usually, from which one has graduated.
2. the official anthem of a school, college, or university.

Origin:
< L: nourishing (i.e., dear) mother
al·ma ma·ter or Al·ma Ma·ter   (āl'mə mä'tər, äl'mə)   
n.  
  1. The school, college, or university that one has attended.
  2. The anthem of an institution of higher learning.

[From Latin Alma Māter, nourishing mother (epithet of certain goddesses) : alma, feminine of almus, nourishing; see al-2 in Indo-European roots + māter, mother; see maternal.]

Alma Mater

Al"ma Ma"ter\ [L., fostering mother.] A college or seminary where one is educated.

alma mater [(al-muh mah-tuhr, ahl-muh mah-tuhr)]

The school or university from which one graduated. The term also refers to a school's official song: “The reunion began with everyone singing the alma mater.” From Latin, meaning “nurturing mother.”


Alma Mater 
1398, from L., lit. "bountiful mother," title Romans gave to goddesses, especially Ceres and Cybele, from alma, fem. of almus "nourishing," from alere "to nourish" (see old) + mater "mother." First used 1710 in sense of "one's university or school" in ref. to British universities.

alma mater

Also, Alma Mater. The school or college one attended and, usually, graduated from, as in During football season I always check to see how my alma mater is doing. This expression sometimes refers to the institution's official song, as in I never did learn the words to my college's alma mater. The term is Latin for "kind mother." [c. 1800]

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