An alumnus or alumna is a former student or pupil of a school, college, or university.
Commonly, but not always, the word refers to a graduate of the educational institute
in question.
An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor, or inmate, as well as a former
student.
If a group includes both sexes, even if there is only one male, the male plural form alumni
is used.
Etymology The Latin noun alumnus means "foster son,
pupil" and is derived from the verb alere "to nourish".
Usage An alumnus or alumna is a former student and
most often a graduate of an educational institution.
According to the United States Department of Education, the term alumnae is used in
conjunction with either women's colleges or a female group of students.
The term alumni is used in conjunction with either men's colleges, a male group of students,
or a mixed group of students: In accordance with the rules of grammar governing
the inflexion of nouns in the Romance languages, the masculine plural alumni is correctly used
for groups composed of both sexes: the alumni of Princeton University.
The term is sometimes informally shortened to "alum", which stands for "an alumna or
alumnus".
"Alumni" is often used as a singular form for both sexes; for example, "I am an alumni
of the university", as opposed to "I am an alumnus/alumna of the university."
This usage is considered erroneous and is inconsistent with the way the term was used
in Latin.
Alumni reunions are popular events at many institutions.
They are usually organized by alumni associations and are often social occasions for fundraising.
Related terms
At most old UK schools, New Zealand schools, South African schools, Sri Lankan schools,
a few universities in the UK, and to a lesser extent in Australia and Canada, the phrases
old boy and old girl are traditionally used for former school pupils, and old member or
member for former university students.
Some Australian co-educational schools use the gender-neutral old scholar.
At the Royal Military College of Canada, the phrases ex-cadet or former cadet and member
of the old brigade are traditionally used, as are college numbers.
Further examples are the terms old corps, or Old Army in reference to alumni from the
Virginia Military Institute and Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets, respectively.
Owing to this general restriction of the phrase to schools for the social elite, the phrase
is normally associated with the aristocracy of the UK.
The term "Old Boys" is also used as part of many sporting associations and clubs worldwide.
Famous examples include Argentine football club Newell's Old Boys and New Zealand rugby
union club High School Old Boys RFC.
Some schools use a specific term clearly linked to the school name, such as "Old Pauline",
"Old Etonian", "Old Harrovian", "Old Carthusian", "Old Oswestrian", "Old Churcherian", "Old
Knox Grammarian", "Old Colcestrian" or "Old Reptonian"; the school's location, such as
"Old Albanian", "Old Chelmsfordian" or "Old Mancunian"; or a more obscure one, such as
"Old Citizen" and "Old Gregorian" for those of the City of London School and Downside
School.
Other UK examples include "Old Alleynian", "Old Blue", "Old Dunumian", "Old Novocastrian",
"Old Clavian", "Old Midwhitgiftian", and "Old Elizabethan".
In Scotland, the term former pupil is also used, especially when referring to sports
teams of a school as well as "Academical" or "Accie" in the case of schools with Academy
in their name, such as Hamilton Academical.
Some US schools, such as Texas A&M University, prefer former student.
The World Student Christian Federation uses the term "senior friends" for its alumni.
References