�y��vlog

An alma mater is the school, college, or university that someone has graduated from.

It’s most commonly used to refer to a college or university, but it can also refer to a high school.

The term is associated with pride in one’s school. It’s often used by those who network and keep in touch with other graduates and continue to identify as a graduate of the school after they have left.

The term alma mater can also refer to the official song of a school, college, or university.

Example: Since Jade graduated from Temple University, she has not stopped talking about her alma mater.

The first records of the term alma mater come from the 1600s. The phrase is Latin and translates as “nourishing mother” (alma can also be interpreted as “dear,” “kind,” or “bountiful”). The English word mother is derived from mater.

What does a nourishing mother have to do with the school you graduated from?

The term Alma Mater was originally used in Ancient Rome as a way of referring to certain goddesses associated with nourishment, including Ceres and Cybele (Cybele was sometimes also referred to as Magna Mater, meaning “great mother”). Later, the term alma mater was applied to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Eventually, it was applied to schools and universities, presumably in reference to their role as places of intellectual nourishment. Relatedly, the word alumnus, referring to a graduate of a specific school, comes from the Latin word alere, meaning “to nourish.”

What are some synonyms for alma mater?

• school song
• school anthem

What are some words that share a root or word element with alma mater?��

��

• Magna Mater
• Terra Mater
• mother
• maternal
• maternity
• matriarch
• matron

What are some words that often get used in discussing alma mater?

��

• university
• college
• school
• high school
• graduate
• alumnus
• song
• anthem

The term alma mater is typically used in reference to colleges and universities. It’s often associated with pride in the school where one graduated.

My alma mater is BEAUTIFUL 😍

— brooklyn kay 🌺 (@b_kayyh)

ATHENS – University of Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart and his wife, Mary Beth, will donate $1 million to their alma mater to support the UGA Athletic Association’s new social justice program.

— DawgPost (@Dawg_Post)

“Neath the sun-kissed sky,
proudly stands our Alma Mater,
Banners high”

I purposely waited for the sun to set so I could take this picture. Bill Wood, the composer of my school’s alma mater nailed it lyrically.

— Jasher®️ (@jashercox)

��

��

True or False?

The term alma mater can refer to the high school that one graduated from.