Meanings
plural optimes
- Cambridge UniversityA student who graduates with second class ("senior optime") or third class ("junior optime") honours in mathematics, or (loosely) in any other subject.
The winning of even a single optime was very rare. Upon winning the second optime, Hamilton “became a celebrity in the intellectual circle of Dublin; and invitations, embarrassing from their number, poured in upon him. . .” (2,I; 209)
1994, Michael J. Crowe, A History of Vector Analysis: The Evolution of the Idea of a Vectorial System, Courier Corporation, →ISBN, page 20
Origin
- Latinoptimē“very well”
- Englishoptime
Borrowed from Latin optimē (“very well”), in the phrase optimē disputāstī (“you have disputed very well”), formerly used in reporting results at Cambridge.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
optime. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/optime
“optime.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/optime. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “optime,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/optime.
Source: optime on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.