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Old Girl redirects here, for the Australian Rules Football ground, see Victoria Park.:Alumni redirects here, for the Argentine football team see Alumni Athletic Club. An alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine) of a college, university, or school is a former student, but is most often used to denote actual graduates with formal degrees from a degree-granting institution. The plural is alumni for men and mixed groups and alumnae for women. It is important to note that in Latin (and inherited English) practice the masculine plural includes the feminine, hence its application both to male-only and mixed groups.
Origin The words are derived from the Latin verb alere, "to nourish," and literally mean "nourished one." Usage The term is often mistakenly thought of as synonymous with "graduate" because it is most commonly used as such, even though it is not literally correct. Sometimes used in informal settings are the incorrect alum or alumn as is the gender-neutral plural equivalent alums. Alumni reunions are popular events at many institutions. They are usually organized by alumni associations and are often social occasions for fundraising. Recently, the definition of "alumni" has expanded to include people who have departed from any kind of organization or program. As such, one can potentially be a "corporate alum" of XYZ Company, or an alum of a military branch, non-profit organization, fraternities and sororities, or training process. Related terms At most public schools and 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 for former university students. In Scotland, the term former pupil (FP) is also used, especially when referring to sports teams of a school. See also | ||||||||
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