What does bachelor mean?
A bachelor is, in its most familiar modern sense, a man who has never married. The term is neutral in tone: some men embrace the label proudly as a sign of independence, while others see it merely as a temporary status before marriage. Its second major meaning is academic — a bachelor is also anyone who holds a bachelor's degree, the undergraduate qualification awarded after roughly three or four years of university study, as in a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science. Historically the word had a third life: in medieval times it denoted a young knight in training or a junior member of a trade guild, reflecting its origin in the Latin baccalarius, a farmhand or junior retainer. Over centuries this notion of a junior or unattached man narrowed into today's two main uses. Related forms such as 'bachelorhood,' 'bachelor pad,' and 'bachelorette' keep the word lively in everyday speech, from wedding invitations to graduation ceremonies.
An unmarried man.
"Her uncle, a cheerful bachelor, hosted Christmas dinner at his flat every year."
Often modified by adjectives such as 'confirmed' or 'eligible'; the phrase 'eligible bachelor' implies an unmarried man considered a desirable marriage prospect.
A person who holds a bachelor's degree from a college or university.
"As a bachelor of arts, she was well prepared for graduate study in history."
Frequently encountered in the capitalized forms 'Bachelor of Arts (BA)' and 'Bachelor of Science (BSc/BS)'; the degree itself is called a 'bachelor's degree' in North American usage.
Standard regular plural. For the degree sense, the plural is usually expressed as 'bachelor's degrees' rather than 'bachelors of science.'
"The apartment building was full of young bachelors who rarely cooked for themselves."
In medieval Europe, a 'bachelor' was a young knight too junior — or too poor — to raise his own banner; only later did the word come to mean an unmarried man.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bachelor
Bachelor comes from Old French 'bacheler' or 'bachelier,' which in turn derives from the medieval Latin 'baccalarius,' meaning a farmhand or junior vassal. From there it broadened to describe a young knight in training and then a holder of the lowest university degree — hence 'bachelor's degree,' whose fuller form is 'baccalaureate.' By the late Middle English period the word had also settled into its best-known modern sense: an unmarried man.
Related word forms
How bachelor is actually used
The unmarried-man sense carries no inherent negative connotation, though phrases like 'confirmed bachelor' can imply a deliberate, sometimes permanent, choice to stay single. In North America the degree sense is extremely common and often written with an apostrophe ('bachelor's degree'); the plural of that form is typically rendered 'bachelor's degrees.' The word applies to men; 'bachelorette' is used informally for an unmarried woman, most familiarly as the name of a reality TV franchise. The knightly and guild senses are now historical.
Easily confused with bachelor
"Batchelor" is simply a common misspelling of "bachelor," not a separate English word.