alma mater

== English == === Etymology === From Latin alma māter (literally “nourishing mother”). Derives from the full name ("Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna") of the oldest European university, the University of Bologna, founded in 1088. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˌælmə ˈmeɪtə(ɹ)/, /ˌælmə ˈmɑːtə(ɹ)/, /ˌɑːlmə ˈmɑːtə(ɹ)/ === Noun === alma mater (plural almae matres or alma maters) A school, college, or university which a person has graduated from or attended. A school’s anthem or song. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== == Dutch == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin alma māter (“feeding mother”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˌɑl.maː ˈmaː.tɛr/, /ˌɑl.maː ˈmaː.tər/ Hyphenation: al‧ma ma‧ter === Noun === alma mater f (plural almae matres or alma maters, no diminutive) alma mater (university one attended, especially one from which one has graduated) == Latin == === Etymology === From alma (“nourishing”) +‎ māter (“mother”) === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈaɫ.ma ˈmaː.tɛr] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈal.ma ˈmaː.ter] === Noun === alma māter f (genitive almae mātris); third declension (Ancient Rome) mother goddess (Medieval Christianity) Virgin Mary ==== Declension ==== First-declension adjective with a third-declension noun. == Portuguese == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from Latin alma māter. === Pronunciation === === Noun === alma mater f (invariable) a person who provides for another homeland (place where one was born) alma mater (school or college from which an individual has graduated) === Further reading === “alma mater”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026 == Spanish == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from Latin alma māter. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˌalma ˈmateɾ/ [ˌal.ma ˈma.t̪eɾ] Syllabification: al‧ma ma‧ter === Noun === alma mater f (plural alma mater) alma mater ==== Usage notes ==== According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed. === Further reading === “alma mater”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025