What does collegian mean?
A collegian is a student at, or a member of, a college or university. The word arose as a natural derivation from 'college' plus the suffix '-an', which forms nouns denoting people associated with a place or institution. In its heyday during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, 'collegian' was the standard way to refer to a young man pursuing his studies at an institution of higher learning, and it carried connotations of scholarship, youth, and sometimes the rowdy independence associated with campus life. Today it survives chiefly in two settings: the mastheads of student newspapers — many American colleges publish papers simply titled 'The Collegian' — and historical or literary prose describing academic life. Though largely displaced by the plainer word 'student', it remains useful when a writer wants a term with period charm or institutional resonance, marking its bearer unmistakably as part of the world of colleges and universities.
nounA student at a college or university; historically, a member of a college.
- A student at, or member of, a college or university.
- A person who attended a particular college (a former collegian).
"As a collegian at Amherst, she edited the campus literary magazine."
"The young collegian spent his summers working on his uncle's fishing boat."
"The campus newspaper, founded by collegians in the 1890s, still publishes weekly."
Standard countable plural; used when referring to students collectively.
"The scholarship fund supports collegians from underrepresented backgrounds."
Long before 'student' became the default, American campuses had their own word for undergrads — and some college newspapers still bear the name 'Collegian' to this day.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of collegian
Collegian derives from 'college', which English borrowed from the Old French 'college', itself taken from the Latin 'collegium', meaning a society or guild whose members share duties and privileges. The Latin noun was formed from 'colligatus', past participle of 'colligare' ('to bind together'), combining the prefix 'com-' ('together') with 'ligare' ('to bind'). The suffix '-an' was added in English to form a personal noun denoting someone belonging to such an institution. The same Latin root gives English 'colleague', 'collegiate', and 'collegiality'.
How collegian is actually used
The word carries a slightly dated, literary flavor in modern usage and often evokes nineteenth- or early twentieth-century campus life. It appears most frequently today in the names of college newspapers and in historical writing about university life rather than in everyday speech.
Easily confused with collegian
Collegiate is an adjective describing something relating to a college, whereas collegian is a noun denoting the student or member himself.
A colleague is a professional coworker, while a collegian is a student at a college; the two share a Latin root but differ entirely in meaning.