Coeducation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The practice of teaching boys and girls together in the same school or classroom rather than in separate institutions
2. An educational arrangement in which students of both sexes study side by side within a single establishment
3. Instruction that enrolls male and female pupils jointly in one school, as opposed to segregated single-sex teaching

Etymology: Coeducation is a plain compound: the prefix "co-", meaning "together" or "jointly", attached to "education". The second element is itself a long-standing English word, borrowed through French from Latin "ēducātiō", a noun built on "ēducāre" ("to bring up, rear"), which in turn traces back to "ēdūcere", meaning "to lead out" or "draw forth", from "ex" ("out") and "dūcere" ("to lead"). The "co-" prefix is the Latin "con-"/"co-", meaning "with" or "together", so "coeducation" literally names the act of bringing up or teaching people together, specifically students of different sexes in the same school or classroom. The combination is transparent, and it was made in English by joining two existing elements rather than by adopting a ready-made foreign word.

Synonyms: mixed schooling

Antonyms: single-sex education