Quote:
Originally Posted by preciousjeni
Quote:
Originally Posted by exlurker
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeEllis
I do. And I can pronounce them in Greek even.
|
Cool. What are the Greek words for alumnus, alumna, alumnae and alumni? Are they close to the Latin words that have come into English, or are they considerably different? |
The words would be completely different. Is there even a direct translation between the Latin and Greek? Maybe mathetes/matheti for alumnus/alumni? |
I'm guessing that he thought alumnus, etc., are Greek, not Latin. The Latin pronunciation is different from the English pronunctiation. In Latin, alumni = alum-nee, while alumnae = alum-neye.
BTW,
alumnus and
alumna literally mean "foster son" and "foster daughter," which can in turn mean "pupil." They come from the same root as
alma in
alma mater, which means "nurturing mother."