alma mater

From Latin alma māter (literally “nourishing mother”). Derives from the full name ("Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna") of the oldest European university, the University of Bologna, founded in 1088.

• IPA^(key): /ˌælmə ˈmeɪtə(ɹ)/, /ˌælmə ˈmɑːtə(ɹ)/, /ˌɑːlmə ˈmɑːtə(ɹ)/

alma mater (plural almae matres or alma maters)

1. A school, college, or university which a person has graduated from or attended.
   • 2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Evesham (1870)”, in RAIL, number 947, page 58:

     I’m in the place where I grew up, where my alma mater is.

   • 2025 July 25, Matt Egan, “How Trump’s mass deportations could backfire on the American economy by shrinking paychecks”, in CNN Business‎^[1]:

     However, a new analysis from Trump’s alma mater suggests that his immigration crackdown – a centerpiece of his second term – could do the exact opposite.

2. A school’s anthem or song.

Borrowed from Latin alma māter (“feeding mother”).

• IPA^(key): /ˌɑl.maː ˈmaː.tɛr/, /ˌɑl.maː ˈmaː.tər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: al‧ma ma‧ter

alma mater f (plural almae matres or alma maters)

1. alma mater (university one attended, especially one from which one has graduated)

From alma (“nourishing”) +‎ māter (“mother”)

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈaɫ.ma ˈmaː.tɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈal.ma ˈmaː.t̪er]

alma māter f (genitive almae mātris); third declension

1. (Ancient Rome) mother goddess
2. (Medieval Christianity) Virgin Mary

First-declension adjective with a third-declension noun.

Unadapted borrowing from Latin alma māter.

alma mater f (invariable)

1. a person who provides for another
2. homeland (place where one was born)
3. alma mater (school or college from which an individual has graduated)

Unadapted borrowing from Latin alma māter.

• IPA^(key): /ˌalma ˈmateɾ/ [ˌal.ma ˈma.t̪eɾ]

• Audio (El Salvador):

  (file)

• Syllabification: al‧ma ma‧ter

alma mater f (plural alma mater)

1. alma mater

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

• “alma mater”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024