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Is it acceptable to use alum for alumnus or alumna?
The words that we have used to refer to people who have attended or graduated from a school, college, or university have changed a bit over the past several centuries. Traditionally, the word alumnus has been used to refer to a single male, whereas alumna has been used for a single woman. Initially the plural forms were alumni to refer to multiple men (or multiple men and women) and alumnae for multiple women. A little over a hundred years ago the shortened form of alum began to be used to describe a graduate or past attendee of either gender. Although many people feel that alum is informal, it is in increasing use, and we appear to be moving toward a greater acceptance of the word. The plural of alum is alums.
Examples of alum in a Sentence
Talia Buford, ProPublica, 14 Nov. 2024
Weber, 33, is an alum of The Bachelor universe, including placing third on the 15th season of The Bachelorette and starring as the bachelor on season 24.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Antoinette is a MacDowell Fellow; an Ars Nova Play Group alum; a Dramatists Guild Fellow; and a Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference Literary Fellow.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2024
Dorsey previously worked at the Food and Drug Administration in the office of the chief counsel and commissioner and is a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee alum.
—Taylor Giorno, The Hill, 31 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Alum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alum. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
alum
noun
called also potassium alum
called also ammonia alum, ammonium alum
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