Etymologically
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student

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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
  • 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