College

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkɒlɪd͡ʒ/

Definitions

1. An institution providing higher education and academic training leading to a degree or qualification
2. An establishment for advanced education that offers degrees while serving as a center for academic research and community development
3. A place of learning dedicated to imparting knowledge through degree programs and fostering personal growth among students

Etymology: Latin "collegium" began as a word for a fellowship of people bound by shared purpose. The root is "collega", "colleague", built from "con-" ("together") and "lex" ("law"), so a colleague was originally someone you were bound to by the same law or office. A "collegium" was a body of men who shared a magistracy, a priesthood, or a trade guild, and the sense of a group sharing one charge is the thread that runs through the whole word. The word reached English through Old French and Middle French, where "college" had already come to mean a community of scholars or clergy living together. Medieval English adopted it for such bodies too, and it entered the language around the 14th century. Its meaning has since narrowed and shifted: a "college" in English was first a community with shared rules and property, and only later came to name the place of higher learning itself.

Synonyms: university, institution, academy, school, educational institution