scholar

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈskɒl.ə/, US /ˈskɑː.lɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English scolere, a student (about 1000),^[2][3] borrowed from Medieval Latin scholāris (“a pupil”), noun use of Late Latin scholāris, of a school,^[2][3][4] from Latin schola, school (see school);^[2][3] Middle English scoler was reinforced by Old French escolier.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who is taught in a school, or who learns from a teacher: about 1000 in the OED.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that the word was not common before the 14th century and the modern use may be a reborrowing.^[3] A learned person, especially in philosophy and classics, is from the late 13th century,^[3] about 1300 in Barnhart,^[2] and a student at a university from 1303.^[6] The spelling with sch- appears in the late 14th century.^[3] In British use a scholar is typically a student who holds a scholarship (1510s).^[3][7] Scholarship, the status of a scholar, is from 1535–36, and learning or erudition from 1589.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – a pupil.^[6]
• c. 1300 – a learned person.^[2]
• 1303 – a university student.^[6]
• 1510s – a scholarship holder.^[3]
• 1535–36 – scholarship.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A learned person, especially an expert in a field of the humanities.
2. A student who holds a scholarship.
3. (dated) A pupil at school.

Word family

• scholarless
• nonscholar
• scholarly
• scholarship

Related words

• scholiast
• school
• scholastic

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins