Harvard

A variant of Harward reflecting the merger of /v/ and /w/ in the dialects of southeastern England; thus from Middle English Herward, Herreward, itself from Old English Hereweard and a doublet of Harward and Hereward. Compare German Herwarth.

• (rhotic) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑɹvəɹd/
• (non-rhotic) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑːvəd/
  • (Boston) IPA^(key): [haːvɪd], [haːvəd], [(h)äːvəd]

Harvard

1. A surname transferred from the given name.
2. Any of a number of places named for persons with the surname, including a city in Massachusetts.
3. A university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, named after John Harvard, American clergyman and philanthropist.
   • 2025 June 7, Jason Wilson, “Harvard author Steven Pinker appears on podcast linked to scientific racism”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     The Harvard psychologist and bestselling author Steven Pinker appeared on the podcast of Aporia, an outlet whose owners advocate for a revival of race science and have spoken of seeking “legitimation by association” by platforming more mainstream figures.

4. A person who attends, attended, or is likely to attend Harvard; by extension, a person very successful academically.
   • 2005, Stephan Wilkinson, The Gold-Plated Porsche: How I Sank a Small Fortune Into a Used Car, and Other Misadventures, page 142:

     I'd finished my second year at Harvard when I boarded the Penn Trader […] Not surprisingly. my name became Harvard. "Hey Harvard, get your ass back to the lazarette and bring me another bucket of red lead!"

   • 2014, J Santiago, Lex and Lu:

     Lu had skipped second grade and found herself at the gifted school by the time she entered fifth grade. That more had earned her the nickname Harvard—another moniker from Lex. […] "Hey, Harvard, how was school today? Did you skip any more grades this week?" he had teased.

   • 2021, Eleanor Randolph, The Many Lives of Michael Bloomberg, page 37:

     He seethed about being the butt of anti-Harvard antics by the golden boy traders. Hey, Harvard, get me coffee."

   • 2023 August 9, Michael Lopp, The Software Developer's Career Handbook‎^[2], "O'Reilly Media, Inc.", →ISBN, page 252:

     Because any reasonably bright engineering team would eat the Ivy Leaguers alive: "Hey, Harvard, can you walk through this stack trace with me?"

   1. (derogatory, by extension) a person who is nerdy, excessively privileged, pretentious
      • 2010 December 17, Terri Wiltshire, Carry Me Home‎^[3], Pan Macmillan, →ISBN:

        Don't mind her, kiddos. Miss Harvard ain't used to gettin' her hands dirty.

      • 2012 October 15, David Shields, Matthew Vollmer, Fakes: An Anthology of Pseudo-Interviews, Faux-Lectures, Quasi-Letters, "Found" Texts, and Other Fraudulent Artifacts‎^[4], W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 333:

        I don't have anything to say about "Feast of Blood," because any idiot can understand it, unless they have an Ivy League education and start looking for allegories and metaphors and what have you. Hey Harvard, guess what: there aren't any. It's a story, not a dissertation. Symbolism is for pussies, you read it here first

      • 2018 September 23, Gabriella Regina, Love Madness‎^[5], Babelcube Inc., →ISBN:

        "What a nerd." he said. "Is that why they call you Harvard?"

• “Harvard”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “Harvard”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “Harvard”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “Harvard” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2025.

Unadapted borrowing from English Harvard.

Harvard f

1. Harvard (university in Cambridge)