Matric

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. The final year of secondary school in South Africa and some other countries, or the examination taken at its end
2. A school-leaving examination and certificate taken at the end of secondary education, often needed for university entry
3. Short for matriculation, the final secondary school year and the qualifying exam that marks its completion

Etymology: "Matric" is a shortened form of "matriculation," and the link to "matrix" runs through the same Latin idea of a register. In medieval Latin, "matricula" was a little list or roll, a diminutive of "matrix," which in classical Latin meant a breeding animal or womb and later came to mean a register or original document from which copies were made. A matriculation was the act of entering a name on such a roll, and to matriculate at a university meant to be formally enrolled as a member of it. The school sense grew from that university usage. A student who matriculated was admitted to the register of a college or university, and the examination taken to qualify for entry became known as the matriculation exam. In Britain and the Commonwealth, the "matric" examination was the leaving-level test that marked the end of secondary schooling, so the word came to name the final school year itself, the year spent preparing for that exam.

Synonyms: matriculation