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In Latin, emeritus was used to describe soldiers who had completed their duty. It is the past participle of the verb emereri, meaning "to serve out one's term," from the prefix e-, meaning "out," and merēre, "to earn, deserve, or serve." (Merēre is also the source of our word merit.) English speakers claimed emeritus as their own in the late 17th century, applying it as both a noun and an adjective referring or relating not to soldiers but to someone who is retired from professional life but permitted to keep as an honorary title the rank of the last office they held. The adjective is frequently used postpositively—that is, after the noun it modifies rather than before it—and it is most commonly used to describe specifically those retired from a professorship.
Examples of emeritus in a Sentence
Bernice Andrews, Scientific American, 8 Apr. 2025
Battle was emeritus member of the Atrium Health Board of Commissioners and Atrium Health Foundation Board, the health system’s website said.
—Jeff A. Chamer, Charlotte Observer, 10 Mar. 2025
And that may be a helpful goal for people seeking treatment for AUD, said Dr. Raymond Anton, an addiction psychiatrist and emeritus professor at the Medical University of South Carolina.
—Meg Tirrell, CNN, 12 Feb. 2025
The emeritus professor of Chicano Studies/History at Cal State Los Angeles, who is married to Valenciana, said the current administration’s rhetoric on immigration echoes that from the 1930s.
—Victoria Valenzuela, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for emeritus
Cite this Entry
“Emeritus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emeritus. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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