Etymology

sophumer

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Today it means: A student in the second year of a four-year college. Full definition →

English sophum, sophom ← Ancient Greek σόφισμα (sóphisma)
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The story

  1. Ancient Greekσοφός (sophós)
  2. Ancient Greekσοφίζω (sophízō)
  3. Ancient Greekσόφισμα (sóphisma)
  4. Englishsophum, sophom
  5. English todaysophumer

First cited in the mid-1600s; from the obsolete sophom, sophum (“sophism or dialectical exercise”), from Ancient Greek σόφισμα (sóphisma), + -er (suffix denoting a person characterized by the root).

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekσόφισμα all →

sophomore

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.