English
alumni
Alumni comes from Latin alumnus ‘Nourished, fostered, etc’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-‘to nourish, grow’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-o-mh₁no-‘being nourished’reconstructedmediopassive participle of *h₂el-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*alomanosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalumnusas alumni‘Nourished, fostered, etc’
- Englishearliest quotation 2002alumni
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-‘to nourish, grow’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-o-mh₁no-‘being nourished’reconstructedmediopassive participle of *h₂el-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*alomanosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalumnusas alumni‘Nourished, fostered, etc’
- Englishearliest quotation 2002alumni
Earliest quotation: 2002, Jack Canfield et al.: “An alumni of AmeriCorps, she has been trained as…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘to nourish, grow’
as, all, old, else, adult, el, ultimate, element, ultra, elder, ellen, alien, alternate, outrage, alter, ou, qualification, altitude, adolescent, altar, abolish, alt, alpine, alias, alto, proletariat, auld, retaliate, ulterior, alimony, alibi, altruism, alp, parallax, coalesce, aad, eld, foetal, exalt, althea, 67 more
Today it means
noun An individual alumnus or alumna.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- / alumni