Emeritus

//ɪˈmɛɹɪtəs// adj, noun

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Retired, but retaining an honorific version of a previous title. not-comparable, often, postpositional

    "emeritus professor    professor emeritus    professors emeritae"

Adjective
  1. 1
    honorably retired from assigned duties and retaining your title along with the additional title ‘emeritus’ as in ‘professor emeritus’ wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    A (male) person who is retired from active service or an occupation, especially one who retains an honorific version of a previous title.

    "Martin Engels said: “I am not posted on dyke-bridges, but if it is a Dutch scheme there may be something in it. That engineer made a mistake by calling the city officials emerituses. He should not call people names if he wants the Municipal Council to build his twenty-four-million-dollar bridge. If the Tammany organization wants to build a dyke-bridge, I’m for it.”"

  2. 2
    a professor or minister who is retired from assigned duties wordnet
  3. 3
    An honorific version of a previous title. rare

    "With a string of “emerituses” behind his name, last of which was acquired with the Welfare society resignation, [George Q.] Sheppard now lives in retirement in his home at The Hill, 722 King street."

Etymology

Etymology 1

The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin ēmeritus (“(having been) earned, (having been) merited; (having been) served, having done one’s service”), the perfect passive participle of ēmereō (“to earn, merit; to gain by service; (military) to complete one’s obligation to serve, to serve out one’s time”), from ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’) + mereō (“to deserve, merit; to acquire, earn, get, obtain; to render service to; to serve”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to allot; to assign”)). The noun is derived from the adjective. The plural form emeriti is borrowed from Latin ēmeritī.

Etymology 2

The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin ēmeritus (“(having been) earned, (having been) merited; (having been) served, having done one’s service”), the perfect passive participle of ēmereō (“to earn, merit; to gain by service; (military) to complete one’s obligation to serve, to serve out one’s time”), from ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’) + mereō (“to deserve, merit; to acquire, earn, get, obtain; to render service to; to serve”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to allot; to assign”)). The noun is derived from the adjective. The plural form emeriti is borrowed from Latin ēmeritī.

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