I think its an american term...ny1 know wat it means?
2007-02-28 11:07:46 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother". It was used in ancient Rome as a title for the mother goddess, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin Mary.
It is now a term mainly used in academia — as a sobriquet for the university or college a person has attended. This usage is taken from the full name ("Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna") of the oldest West European university (that is, not counting the Greek University in Constantinople), the University of Bologna (founded in the eleventh century, in year 1088).
In the United States the term is used in two further ways: in reference to an educational institution a person has attended; and as a generic term for such an institutions anthem or song, examples of which often include the phrase, sometimes as the incipit. In the former usage, the phrase is usually reserved for a school from where a person has graduated; however, it also means any school a person has attended, not necessarily the degree granting instituion. For example, a person may attend a university and then transfer to another, but each institution is considered that person's "alma mater."
The word matriculation is also derived from the Latin root word mater. The term suggests that the students are fed knowledge and taken care of by the educational institution.
2007-02-28 11:12:23 · answer #1 · answered by lou53053 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I believe Alma mater is an American term to describe a graduates old school or college
2007-02-28 19:13:32 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's the school that you graduated from
For example:
John graduated from Florida State University. John's alma mater is Florida State University.
2007-02-28 19:11:33 · answer #3 · answered by workinggirl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
once you graduate from a college, or university, some people refer to the specific college they graduated from as their alma mater.
2007-02-28 19:11:02 · answer #4 · answered by stephieSD 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother"
2007-02-28 19:11:25 · answer #5 · answered by ♥ Lily ♥ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's where you went to school. For example you would say, "Duke was my alma mater."
2007-02-28 19:11:01 · answer #6 · answered by KJ480 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
YOUR ALMA MATER IS THE SCHOOL YOU WENT TO
2007-02-28 19:10:30 · answer #7 · answered by omallory_us 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It literally means - nourishing mother and is often a term for your old place of study.
2007-02-28 19:10:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a latin phrase and it means "nourishing mother" - a synonym for the University.
2007-02-28 19:12:06 · answer #9 · answered by perdü 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means the school that one attended.
2007-02-28 19:11:18 · answer #10 · answered by Clown Knows 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋