Alumn
An alumn (with a silent "n") or alum is a former student of a university, school or college. The term is often used to mean a graduate. In Latin, alumnus is the masculine singular form of the word and alumna is the feminine singular form (the root of the words is derived from the Latin verb alere, "to nourish", and literally means "nourished one" or "nursling"). These terms are recommended by leading dictionaries, but because they are genderspecific, their use is limited. The Latin plural is alumni, for men and mixed groups and alumnae for women. The term alumns is also used. The use of the plural form may do away with the problem of gender specific language found in the singular.Alumni and Alumnae reunions are a popular event at many universities, which are organized by alumni associations - and are often occasions for learning, socializing, and fund-raising.
Due to concerns about political correctness at colleges and universities particularly in the United States, as well as a desire among academics to seem to know Latin, the preferred terms on college campuses now are generally "alumnus" and "alumna." It is regarded as politically incorrect, and arguably grammatically incorrect, to use "alumnus" and "alumni" to refer to women, but some people still use those terms that way. The term alumni is also often used to refer to an individual, although commonly considered incorrect.
In addition, if one considers all-women colleges, they graduate only an "alumna", plural "alumnae," and on the grounds of ordinary correctness (non-political), they do only name their associations of graduates, alumnae associations.
One school, Texas A&M University, avoids the controversy completely. It has never called its graduates "alumni" or even "graduates", but "former students".
In the United Kingdom, the phrases old boy(s) and old girl(s) are sometimes used for former students, but never old child(ren).
See also:
- Alma mater
- Old boy network