Alma mater

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For other uses, see Alma mater (disambiguation)}}}.

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.

This term is taken from the motto ("Alma Mater Studiorum") of the oldest European university, the University of Bologna, in Italy, founded in 1088AD, and located in the city of Bologna.

In many modern languages it is usually and principally heard as a term of academia. Thus in the English language it is used as a sobriquet for the university or college a person has attended. In American English, it is also heard in reference to a high school or elementary school.

Alma mater is sometimes the incipit of a school's anthem or song, and may be taken as a title for the genre. The term is more familiar in the United States than in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term often refers to the entire school song as opposed to simply the opening. The phrase actually appears in one of the best-known of such songs, "Far Above Cayuga's Waters" of Cornell University:

Far above Cayuga's waters

With its waves of blue

Stands our noble alma mater

Glorious to view.

The word matriculation is derived from the Latin root word mater. The term suggests that the students are fed knowledge and taken care of by the educational institution.

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[Definition of alma mater] at Merriam-Webster Online

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