emeritus

noun
emer·​i·​tus | \ i-ˈmer-ə-təs How to pronounce emeritus (audio) \
plural emeriti\ i-​ˈmer-​ə-​ˌtī How to pronounce emeriti (audio) , -​ˌtē \

Definition of emeritus

 (Entry 1 of 2)

: a person retired from professional life but permitted to retain as an honorary title the rank of the last office held

emeritus

adjective

Definition of emeritus (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : holding after retirement an honorary title corresponding to that held last during active service
2 : retired from an office or position professor emeritus converted to emeriti after a plural professors emeriti

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Did You Know?

Adjective

The adjective emeritus is unusual in two ways: it's frequently used postpositively (that is, after the noun it modifies), and it has a plural form—emeriti—when it modifies a plural noun in its second sense. If you've surmised from these qualities that the word is Latin in origin, you are correct. Emeritus, which is the Latin past participle of the verb emereri, meaning "to serve out one's term," was originally used to describe soldiers who had completed their duty. (Emereri is from the prefix e-, meaning "out," and merēre, meaning "to earn, deserve, or serve"—also the source of our English word merit.) By the early 18th century, English speakers were using emeritus as an adjective to refer to professors who had retired from office. The word eventually came to be applied to other professions where a retired member may continue to hold a title in an honorary capacity.

Examples of emeritus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

In 2014 Louis Albright, an emeritus professor of biological and environmental engineering at Cornell University in America, calculated that a loaf of bread made from wheat grown in a vertical farm would be priced at about $23. The Economist, "New ways to make vertical farming stack up," 31 Aug. 2019 Humphrey, an emeritus professor at the London School of Economics, knew that a handful of evolutionary thinkers had offered ways to resolve this paradox. Elizabeth Culotta, Science | AAAS, "Have humans developed natural defenses against suicide?," 22 Aug. 2019 Memorials have come from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, where Kleiman taught from 1996 to 2015, ultimately holding the post of emeritus professor of public policy. Los Angeles Times, "Column: Farewell to Mark Kleiman, one of America’s great sages in public affairs," 29 July 2019 Donald Polden, emeritus professor of law at Santa Clara University, points out, for example, that the tech giants’ customers aren’t paying higher prices. Levi Sumagaysay, The Mercury News, "Tech giants targeted by Justice Department antitrust review," 23 July 2019 Robin Chazdon, a forest ecologist and an emeritus professor at the University of Connecticut, wanted to figure out which restored forests would deliver the most net benefits to humanity. Umair Irfan, Vox, "Restoring forests may be one of our most powerful weapons in fighting climate change," 5 July 2019 He's now been retired since 1998, and has the title of emeritus professor currently. Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Who Is Kamala Harris's Dad Donald Harris, a Renowned Stanford Professor?," 3 July 2019 Antony Young, emeritus professor of experimental photobiology at King's College London, warns that most of the damage caused by ultraviolet radiation is not visible to the naked eye. Nina Avramova, CNN, "How your health is at risk during a heatwave," 28 June 2019 The Northeastern University emeritus professor has compiled statistics from the state showing that drivers going northbound from the Braintree split on Interstate 93 during the morning rush hour travel, on average, at 10.3 miles per hour. Shirley Leung, BostonGlobe.com, "Hey Expressway drivers: Red Line’s woes will hurt you, too," 13 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'emeritus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of emeritus

Noun

circa 1701, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for emeritus

Adjective

Latin, past participle of emereri to serve out one's term, from e- + mereri, merēre to earn, deserve, serve — more at merit

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More Definitions for emeritus

emeritus

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of emeritus

: retired with an honorary title from an office or position especially in a university