emeritus

noun emer·i·tus \ i-ˈmer-ə-təs \

Updated on: 12 May 2018

Definition of emeritus

plural emeriti play \i-ˈmer-ə-ˌtī, -ˌtē\

: a person retired from professional life but permitted to retain as an honorary title the rank of the last office held

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First Known Use of emeritus

circa 1701

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Other Forms of Address Terms

appellation, beatitude, brethren, esquire, sire, sous

emeritus

adjective

Definition of emeritus

1 : holding after retirement an honorary title corresponding to that held last during active service

2 : retired from an office or position

professor emeritus

—converted to emeriti after a plural

professors emeriti

See emeritus defined for English-language learners

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Recent Examples of emeritus from the Web

Stewart Tolnay, an emeritus professor at the University of Washington, works with Beck and others on the lynching research.

— allison ross, The Courier-Journal, "Alabama's lynching memorial is forcing Kentucky to confront its brutal and racist past," 26 Apr. 2018
In later years, Bush served as an emeritus public trustee for the Mayo Clinic.

— lindsay kimble, PEOPLE.com, "Former First Lady Barbara Bush Dies at 92: 'A Woman Unlike Any Other'," 17 Apr. 2018
In an earlier interview, the 2017 alignment didn’t strike Colgate University emeritus professor Anthony Aveni as particularly unusual.

— National Geographic, "No, the World Will Not End on April 23," 13 Apr. 2018
The emeritus archbishop of Santiago subsequently apologized for having refused to believe the victims from the start.

— jane onyanga-omara, USA TODAY, "Pope Francis shocks Chile by accusing sex abuse victims of slander," 19 Jan. 2018
Ralph Clem is emeritus professor of geography at Florida International University.

— cynthia buckley, Washington Post, "The war in Ukraine is more devastating than you know," 9 Apr. 2018
After the South Florida Sun Sentinel questioned the deal, the college created a full-time president emeritus job description for Armstrong, with expanded duties such as outreach to the business community and the state Legislature.

— scott travis, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Broward College president's $381,000 sabbatical under fire in audit," 4 Apr. 2018
James named two local SCLC board members to the advisory group, attorney Wesley Fields and the Rev. Bob Hill, minister emeritus of Community Christian Church.

— bill turque, kansascity, "Mayor selects citizens group to explore possible honors for King | The Kansas City Star," 6 Apr. 2018
The Heat’s biggest star remains Dwyane Wade 2.0, an emeritus star now off the bench.

— greg cote, miamiherald, "Of the four teams the Heat might face in the playoffs, fans should hope it isn’t this one | Miami Herald," 5 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'emeritus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The adjective emeritus is unusual in two ways: it's frequently used postpositively (that is, after the noun it modifies), and it has a plural form—emeriti—when it modifies a plural noun in its second sense. If you've surmised from these qualities that the word is Latin in origin, you are correct. Emeritus, which is the Latin past participle of the verb emereri, meaning "to serve out one's term," was originally used to describe soldiers who had completed their duty. (Emereri is from the prefix e-, meaning "out," and merēre, meaning "to earn, deserve, or serve"—also the source of our English word merit.) By the early 18th century, English speakers were using emeritus as an adjective to refer to professors who had retired from office. The word eventually came to be applied to other professions where a retired member may continue to hold a title in an honorary capacity.