Etymology

alma mater

Today it means: A school, college, or university which a person has graduated from or attended. Full definition →

Latin alma māter
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromalma māter
  2. English todayalma mater

From Latin alma māter (literally “nourishing mother”). Derives from the full name ("Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna") of the oldest European university, the University of Bologna, founded in 1088.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.