Etymologically
Log in

scholar

This is an old revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 05:43. It may differ significantly from the current version. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Current version Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

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

Etymology

It is 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

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