Upperclassmen

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals enrolled in higher grade levels at an educational institution
2. Students who have advanced to the later stages of their academic journey
3. Students who are in the higher grades of a school or college, typically having seniority over younger pupils

Etymology: "Upperclassmen" is the plural of "upperclassman," formed from "upper" and "classman." The first part is the familiar comparative-sense adjective meaning higher in position, while "classman" combines "class" in its sense of a year-group of students with "man," the same suffix seen in "freshman" and "sophomore." Together they name students in the later years of a school or college, those senior to the younger pupils below them. The "-man" ending is the interesting part. Terms like "freshman," "sophomore," "junior," and "senior" were applied to American students as a set, and "classman" grew out of that pattern as a general word for a member of a class, meaning a student in a given year. Adding "upper" simply picks out the older half of that sequence, so the compound is a plain, transparent formation rather than a word with a dramatic backstory.

Synonyms: seniors, juniors

Antonyms: freshmen, sophomores