emeritus

1 of 2

noun

emer·​i·​tus i-ˈmer-ə-təs How to pronounce emeritus (audio)
plural emeriti i-ˈmer-ə-ˌtī How to pronounce emeritus (audio)
-ˌtē
: a person retired from professional life but permitted to retain as an honorary title the rank of the last office held

emeritus

2 of 2

adjective

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

Did you know?

In Latin, emeritus was used to describe soldiers who had completed their duty. It is the past participle of the verb emereri, meaning "to serve out one's term," from the prefix e-, meaning "out," and merēre, "to earn, deserve, or serve." (Merēre is also the source of our word merit.) English speakers claimed emeritus as their own in the late 17th century, applying it as both a noun and an adjective referring or relating not to soldiers but to someone who is retired from professional life but permitted to keep as an honorary title the rank of the last office they held. The adjective is frequently used postpositively—that is, after the noun it modifies rather than before it—and it is most commonly used to describe specifically those retired from a professorship.

Examples of emeritus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Animals who are tidying up could be: Building a nest or shelter Hiding food Creating a barrier against diseases Mating Defending themselves or an area But James C. Ha, an emeritus research professor at the University of Washington, wasn’t surprised to see the Welsh mouse doing its thing. Matt Benoit, Discover Magazine, 1 Mar. 2024 Smil is an emeritus professor of environmental studies at the University of Manitoba, in Winnipeg. David Owen, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2024 LaMont, watching Drew inspect the ribs, pork, salmon, chicken and sausage in the smoker, appreciates his emeritus member position on the team. Kimberly Winter Stern, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2024 At the time of his death, Mills was an emeritus professor at University of Delaware, having retired in 2008 after teaching there for 22 years. Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 19 Jan. 2024 In the 1980s educational psychologist Linda Siegel, now an emeritus professor at the University of British Columbia, began investigating some of these anecdotal suspicions. Sarah Carr, Scientific American, 16 Nov. 2023 Unionization has been and is key to transforming the economic prospects of Black workers without a college degree, said Steven Pitts, the emeritus associate chair at the UC Berkeley Labor Center. Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 7 Oct. 2023 Lewis has been the emeritus chronicler of market mayhem in the United States for decades, starting with his semi-autobiographical 1989 debut about life on Wall Street in the ’80s, Liar’s Poker. Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 5 Oct. 2023 Snow, an emeritus general authority Seventy, and other locals are no less thrilled to see their landmark temple reopen. Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 6 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'emeritus.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Latin, past participle of emereri to serve out one's term, from e- + mereri, merēre to earn, deserve, serve — more at merit entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1692, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1693, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of emeritus was in 1692

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Dictionary Entries Near emeritus

Cite this Entry

“Emeritus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emeritus. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

emeritus

adjective
emer·​i·​tus
i-ˈmer-ət-əs
: retired with an honorary title from an office or position
emeritus noun

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