pedagogue

noun

ped·​a·​gogue ˈpe-də-ˌgäg 

variants or less commonly pedagog

: teacher, schoolmaster

especially : a dull, formal, or pedantic teacher

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Pedagogical, Pedagogy, and Pedagogue

Pedagogical and its cognates present us with an excellent example of how different words can come from the same root, retain closely related meanings, and yet take on distinctive connotations. Pedagogical, pedagogy, and pedagogue all come from the Greek paidagōgos, originally the word for an enslaved person who brought children to school. But while pedagogical and pedagogy have meanings simply related to education, teaching, or teachers (with no implied judgment), pedagogue has taken on a negative tone, often referring to a dull or overly formal teacher. A similar transformation has taken place with many of the pedant- words in English. Pedant originally denoted simply "a tutor," but now tends to mean "one who makes a show of knowledge." Pedantic formerly meant "relating to teaching," but now is more commonly used to mean "unimaginative or dull."

Synonyms

• teacher

Examples of pedagogue in a Sentence

a pedagogue whose classroom lessons consisted entirely of reading directly from the textbook in a monotone

Recent Examples on the Web

Even for instructors that care about teaching, keeping student’s attention is increasingly challenging from pedagogues at elementary schools to graduate school professors at elite universities as students show up distracted and on their phones. —Sergei Revzin, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025

They are attracted to personalities that feel to them more like friends than pedagogues. —Caroline Downey, National Review, 18 July 2025

Roach is, clearly, among fashion’s most powerful pedagogues. —Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 15 Apr. 2025

The course is a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree and will prepare students to enter the industry as intimacy coordinators for film and visual media, intimacy directors for theater and live performance, and intimacy pedagogues for teaching in education and in the profession. —Patrick Frater, Variety, 20 Mar. 2023

His main teacher was Leon Russianoff, a leading clarinet pedagogue of the latter half of the 20th century, after whom Mr. Drucker would name his son. —Daniel J. Wakin, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2022

Former patients spoke of him as a highly empathetic and conscientious doctor; former colleagues attested to his surgical skills and his excellence as a clinician, pedagogue, and promoter of best practices. —Will Self, Harper’s Magazine , 28 Sep. 2022

Boulanger, the younger sister of famed pedagogue and composer Nadia, showed tremendous talent before her early death at 24. —Dallas News, 1 Mar. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Middle English pedagoge, petegoge "teacher," borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French pedagoge, pedagogue "person escorting a child to school, tutor," borrowed from Latin paedagōgus "slave in charge of children," borrowed from Greek paidagōgós "slave who escorted children to and from school and supervised them while outdoors, attendant on a child, tutor, guide, mentor," from paid- ped- + agōgós "leading, guiding," derivative (with reduplication) of ágein "to lead, carry off" — more at agent

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pedagogue

• analog
• analogue
• catalogue
• decalogue
• demagogue
• dialogue
• epilogue
• homologue
• monologue
• synagogue
• tagalog
• travelogue

Kids Definition

pedagogue

noun

ped·​a·​gogue ˈped-ə-ˌgäg 

: teacher, schoolmaster

Etymology

Middle English pedagoge "teacher," from early French pedagoge (same meaning), from Latin paedagogus (same meaning), from Greek paidagōgos "a servant who escorted children to school," from paid- "child" and agōgos "leader"

Word Origin

In ancient Greece a rich family had many servants. One of the servants was in charge of caring for the children. This servant's duties included escorting the children to and from school. As a name for this servant, the Greek prefix paid-, meaning "child," and the noun agōgos, meaning "leader," were combined to form paidagōgos. This word might be translated literally as "child-leader." The English word pedagogue can be traced to the Greek paidagōgos. It is now a name for a person who leads children by teaching them, rather than just by escorting them.