Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Retired but retaining an honorary title corresponding to that held immediately before retirement.
- noun One who is retired but retains an honorary title corresponding to that held immediately before retirement.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Having served out one's time; having done sufficient service; discharged with honor from the performance of public duty on account of infirmity, age, or long service, but retained on the rolls: as, a professor emeritus; a rector emeritus.
- noun In Roman history, a soldier or public functionary who had served out his time and retired from service. Such servants were entitled to some remuneration answering to modern half pay.
- noun One who has served out his time or done sufficient service; one who has been honorably discharged from public service or from a public office, as an officer in a university or college, usually with continuance of full or partial emolument.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective 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.
- noun A veteran who has honorably completed his service.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
retired , butretaining anhonorific version of previoustitle ; especially used withprofessor . - noun A person retired in this sense (feminine form
emerita ).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a professor or minister who is retired from assigned duties
- adjective honorably retired from assigned duties and retaining your title along with the additional title `emeritus' as in `professor emeritus'
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Hartshorne eventually became a long-term emeritus professor at Austin and lived there until his death on October 9, 2000.
Charles Hartshorne Dombrowski, Dan 2009
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He's offering himself in what could be called emeritus status - possibly one column a week and some Internet writing.
Chicago Reader 2010
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He's offering himself in what could be called emeritus status - possibly one column a week and some Internet writing.
Chicago Reader 2010
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Is he going to be some kind of emeritus consultant?
Robinson Hired as Creative Consultant | Major Spoilers - Comic Book Reviews and News 2009
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To be a "emeritus" and see all your work being destroyed...uau!
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Or in the words of my own state's now 'emeritus' (Virginia has always been proud of its academic leanings) state song (approved in 1940), 'Carry Me Back to Old Virginny' -
Is That Legal?: The Past And Partisan Posturing in North Carolina 2007
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When CBS agreed to pay Rather $2.2 million a year to replace Cronkite and keep the young star from bolting to ABC News, it also acquiesed to push the former anchor into an "emeritus" position.
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I will now need to read up on prof Roy, I notice he is now emeritus, meaning that he is retired and therefore free to make a fool of himself.
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SAJAK: Jack Hanna, director emeritus of Columbus Zoo, and we all know what "emeritus" means.
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Apparently, he isn't in a hurry to add "emeritus" to any of them.
southcoastsounds commented on the word emeritus
From The Guardian newspaper 26 February 2013: Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "emeritus pope" in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican has announced, again fuelling concerns about potential conflicts arising from having both a reigning and a retired pope.
February 27, 2013