student

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈstjuː.dənt/, US /ˈstuː.dənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English student, an alteration, under the influence of Latin studēre (“to be eager, apply oneself, study”), of earlier studient,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French estudiant (“student, one who is studying”) (modern French étudiant),^[4][3][2] the noun use of the present participle of estudier (“to study”),^[4][2] from Medieval Latin studiāre (“to study”),^[4][3] from Latin studium (“zeal, painstaking application, study”).^[4][5] Hoad, Merriam-Webster and the COED derive it directly from Latin studēns, the present participle of studēre.^[6][7][5] It is related to study.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A studious person, one who pursues knowledge: before 1398 as studient,^[2][8] and as student probably before 1425, in a translation of Higden's Polychronicon.^[2] Forms without the -i- appear by the early 15th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

A person following a course of study at a university is from about 1430.^[8] At Christ Church, Oxford, a Student is a member of the foundation, like a fellow elsewhere, from 1651.^[8] From about 1900, at first in American English, the word was used of pupils at primary and secondary schools.^[4][8] An Old English word for a student was leorningcild, “learning-child”.^[4] Student teacher is from 1851, American English.^[4] Student's t-test in statistics is named after the pseudonym “Student” of William Sealy Gosset, a brewery employee.^[9][8]

Timeline

• before 1398 – studient, a studious person.^[2][8]
• before 1425 – the form student.^[2]
• c. 1430 – a university student.^[8]
• 1651 – a Student of Christ Church, Oxford.^[8]
• 1851 – student teacher.^[4]
• 1900 – a school pupil (US).^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who attends a school, college or university.
2. A person who studies or takes a close interest in a subject: a student of history.
3. (Oxford) A member of the foundation of Christ Church.

Word family

• studentless
• studentlike
• antistudent
• nonstudent
• studentship
• student lamp
• exchange student
• student body

Related words

• study
• studio
• studious
• étude

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 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press