Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Emeritus
‖
E-mer′i-tus
,Adj.
[L., having served out his time, p. p. of
emerere
, emereri
, to obtain by service, serve out one’s term; e
out + merere
, mereri
, to merit, earn, serve.] Honorably discharged from the performance of public duty on account of age, infirmity, or long and faithful services; – said of an officer of a college or pastor of a church.
Definition 2024
emeritus
emeritus
English
Adjective
emeritus (not comparable)
Translations
retired but retaining an honorific version of previous title
Noun
emeritus (plural emeriti)
- A person retired in this sense (feminine form emerita).
- 1955, Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita:
- Oh, you veteran crime reporter, you grave old usher, you once popular policeman, now in solitary confinement after gracing that school crossing for years, you wretched emeritus read to by a boy!
- 1955, Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita:
Related terms
Latin
Etymology
Perfect passive participle of ēmereō (“earn, merit”).
Participle
ēmeritus m (feminine ēmerita, neuter ēmeritum); first/second declension
Inflection
First/second declension.
| Number | Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case / Gender | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| nominative | ēmeritus | ēmerita | ēmeritum | ēmeritī | ēmeritae | ēmerita | |
| genitive | ēmeritī | ēmeritae | ēmeritī | ēmeritōrum | ēmeritārum | ēmeritōrum | |
| dative | ēmeritō | ēmeritō | ēmeritīs | ||||
| accusative | ēmeritum | ēmeritam | ēmeritum | ēmeritōs | ēmeritās | ēmerita | |
| ablative | ēmeritō | ēmeritā | ēmeritō | ēmeritīs | |||
| vocative | ēmerite | ēmerita | ēmeritum | ēmeritī | ēmeritae | ēmerita | |
Descendants
References
- emeritus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- emeritus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- EMERITUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
- Félix Gaffiot (1934), “emeritus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.