academe

A1C3A1D2E1M3E1
UK/ˈæk.ə.diːm/US/ˈæk.əˌdim/

noun

The garden in Athens where the academics met.

Less commonFirst used late 16th c.Scrabble 12

Meanings

academe1

nounacademe (plural academes)

plural academes · alternative Academe

  1. historicalThe garden in Athens where the academics met.First known use late 16th c.

    Synonyms: academy

  2. poeticAn academy; a place of learning.First known use late 16th c.

    Navarre shall be the wonder of the world; / Our court shall be a little Academe,/ Still and contemplative in living art.

    1603, William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost

    Synonyms: academy

  3. poeticThe scholarly life, environment, or community.First known use mid 19th c.

    His father expected him to enter the government or a major corporation upon graduation from the university, but Noboru Wataya chose to remain in academe and become a scholar.

    1997, Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; republished New York: Vintage Books, 1998, →ISBN, page 74
    1 more example

    If it did nothing else, Homosexuality: Social, Psychological, and Biological Issues shows that the basic tenet of gay liberation—that is, viewing gayness as having an intrinsic validity—has finally entered and taken root in the groves of academe.

    1983 December 3, Michael Bronski, “Homosexuality: Social, Psychological and Biological Issues (review)”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 20, page 10

    Synonyms: academia

  4. A senior member of the staff at an institution of higher learning; pedant.First known use mid 20th c.

    Synonyms: pedant

Academe2

noun
  1. alternativeAlternative spelling of academe.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe garden in Athens where the academics met.

Similar

nounAn academy; a place of learning.

Similar

nounThe scholarly life, environment, or community.

Similar

nounA senior member of the staff at an institution of higher learning; pedant.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe academic world

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient GreekἈκάδημος (Akádēmos)
  2. Ancient GreekἈκαδήμεια (Akadḗmeia)
  3. New Latinacadēmī̆a
  4. Englishacademe

From New Latin academia, from Ancient Greek Ἀκαδημία (Akadēmía); Doublet of academia, academy, and Akademeia. Academe (frequently capitalized) is a poetic name for the garden or grove near ancient Athens where Plato taught, supposedly named for its former owner, the hero Ἀκάδημος (Akademos; Ἑκάδημος, Hekademos).

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with academe

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

academe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/academe

MLA

“academe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/academe. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “academe,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/academe.

Source: academe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.