faculty

noun

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fac·ul·ty | \ ˈfa-kəl-tē

plural faculties

Definition of faculty

1 : ability, power: such as

a : innate or acquired ability to act or do man … how infinite in faculty— William Shakespeare

b : an inherent capability, power, or function the faculty of hearing

c : any of the powers of the mind (such as will, reason, or instinct) formerly held by psychologists to form a basis for the explanation of all mental phenomena

d : natural aptitude has a faculty for saying the right things

2a : a branch of teaching or learning (such as law, medicine, or liberal arts) in an educational institution

b archaic : something in which one is trained or qualified

3a : the members of a profession

b : the teaching and administrative staff and those members of the administration having academic rank in an educational institution an excellent mathematics faculty

c faculty plural : faculty members many faculty were present

4 : power, authority, or prerogative given or conferred The state has the faculty to define treason.

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Choose the Right Synonym for faculty

gift, faculty, aptitude, bent, talent, genius, knack mean a special ability for doing something. gift often implies special favor by God or nature. the gift of singing beautifully faculty applies to an innate or less often acquired ability for a particular accomplishment or function. a faculty for remembering names aptitude implies a natural liking for some activity and the likelihood of success in it. a mechanical aptitude bent is nearly equal to aptitude but it stresses inclination perhaps more than specific ability. a family with an artistic bent talent suggests a marked natural ability that needs to be developed. has enough talent to succeed genius suggests impressive inborn creative ability. has no great genius for poetry knack implies a comparatively minor but special ability making for ease and dexterity in performance. the knack of getting along

Examples of faculty in a Sentence

She's a member of the Harvard faculty. The school hired more faculty. a meeting with students and faculty She has a faculty for making friends. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Recent Examples on the Web In 1979, my father and the other Westerners on faculty at Dhahran’s University of Petroleum and Minerals, the Kingdom’s flagship institution of higher learning, were quietly urged to find employment elsewhere. — Keija Parssinen, The New York Review of Books, "The US–Saudi Story, Through the Eyes of an Aramco ‘Brat’," 31 Jan. 2020 African American students and faculty at Kent State University proposed expanding the celebration to include the entire month of February in 1969. — Weldon B. Johnson, azcentral, "Here's where to celebrate Black History Month 2020 in metro Phoenix," 27 Jan. 2020 Now those parent leaders are collaborating with faculty at UCLA to help new teachers reshape everyday conversations to be less about blame and more about enabling parents to share their expertise on their own children. — Michelle Valladares, The Conversation, "5 new ways for schools to work with families," 11 Dec. 2019 Students and faculty at Tufts have long called on the school to sever ties with the Sacklers, especially those in science and medicine programs. — Collin Binkley, chicagotribune.com, "Tufts University is severing ties with the Sackler family — which has given it millions — over concerns about OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma," 5 Dec. 2019 While on faculty at Auburn, Mary Eileen studied production and marketing practices across six continents. — courant.com, "Mary Eileen Barry," 1 Dec. 2019 Students and faculty at the University of South Alabama are in mourning after a professor was found dead inside his home Wednesday afternoon. — Christopher Harress | Charress@al.com, al, "Slain University of South Alabama professor remembered as ‘truly great person’," 21 Nov. 2019 The string of fatalities has left students and faculty at the prestigious university shaken and struggling for answers. — CBS News, "USC student found dead, bringing semester death toll to 9," 13 Nov. 2019 Town & Country asked Lee-ford Tritt, law professor and member of the graduate tax faculty at the University of Florida College of Law, to walk us through how the move might affect the President's bottom line. — Norman Vanamee, Town & Country, "Why Do One Percenters Like Donald Trump Move to Florida?," 7 Nov. 2019

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

History and Etymology for faculty

Middle English faculte "power, ability, field of knowledge, branch of learning at a university," borrowed from Anglo-French faculté, borrowed from Medieval Latin facultāt-, facultās (Latin, "power, ability, opportunity, quantity available"), from Latin *faklis, earlier form of facilis "easy, accommodating" + -tāt-, -tās -ty — more at facile

Note: Latin facultās presumably developed from an original *faklitāts (via *fakl̥tāts > *fakiltāts > facultās), and hence is a doublet of facilitās "quality of being easily performed" (see facility), a derivative formed after facilis had assumed its attested form (with *-klis > -cilis). The difference in meaning between the two derivatives suggests the original adjective *faklis may have meant something like "possessing the power, able" (whence "easily done," conforming to other adjectives in -ilis).

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facultative

facultative referendum

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Last Updated

12 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Faculty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faculty?pronunciation&lang=en_us&dir=f&file=facult02. Accessed 21 Feb. 2020.

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faculty

noun