Wiktionary

academic

See also: acadèmic

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From both the Medieval Latin acadēmicus and the French académique, from Latin academia, from Ancient Greek ἀκαδημικός (akadēmikós), from Ἀκαδημία (Akadēmía) or Ἀκαδήμεια (Akadḗmeia), the name of the place where Plato taught; compare academy.[1]

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˌækəˈdɛmɪk/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛmɪk

Adjective

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academic (comparative more academic, superlative most academic)

  1. Belonging to the school or philosophy of Plato [from late 16th century][2]
    the academic sect or philosophy
  2. Belonging to an academy or other higher institution of learning, or a scholarly society or organization. [from late 16th century][2]
    • 1761, William Warburton, A Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of Gloucester; republished as The Works of the Right Reverend William Warburton, D. D., Lord Bishop of Gloucester, volume 9, 1811, page 372:
      But unhappily, by too short a view of things, you have been apt to mistake the completion of your academic courses for the completion of your theologic studies: and then, by a false modesty, have despaired of knowing more than you would suffer those august places of your education to teach you.
    • 1959 December, John Alves, “Resorts for Railfans - 29: Oxford”, in Trains Illustrated, page 596:
      It was left to the motor industry, half a century later, to destroy Oxford's academic calm.
  3. In particular: relating to literary, classical, or artistic studies like the humanities, rather than to technical or vocational studies like engineering or welding.
    • 1991, Wisconsin State Board of Vocational, Technical and Adult Education, Accountability Report, and ... State Plan for Vocational, Technical and Adult Education in Wisconsin, page 16:
      Programs of work should provide students the opportunities to demonstrate both academic and vocational competence attainment.
  4. Having little practical use or value, as by being overly detailed and unengaging, or by being theoretical and speculative with no practical importance. [from late 19th century]
    Coordinate terms: abstract, artificial
    I have always had an academic interest in hacking.
    the distinction is academic
    an academic question
    • 1985, Robert Burchfield, The English Language, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 112:
      But almost always such words are irreversibly established before the objectors learn of their existence, and the objections are hardly more than academic exercises.
    • 1985, Depyrogenation, page 33:
      In theory, a fully intact reverse osmosis membrane should be capable of removing lipopolysaccharide pyrogens […] In practice, this distinction is academic, because pyrogens do not replicate, and as long as the product water is […]
    • 1990, David George Lowe, I. J. M. Jeffrey, Surgical Pathology Techniques, Mosby Incorporated:
      In practice this distinction is academic, as any small nodule on the surface of a thyroidectomy specimen should be examined histologically. If carcinoma is suspected or proven, the whole surface of the specimen may be marked […]
    • 2011 May 16, “Pakistan's AQ Khan: My Nuclear Manifesto”, in Newsweek:
      The question of how many weapons are required for credible deterrence against India is purely academic.
    • 2017 November 10, “Land Rover Discovery review – SUV's the finest car in the Landy”, in Scottish Daily Record:
      For the majority of owners, its four-wheel-drive endeavours will be of purely academic interest.
    • 2018 May 22, Decision, Matter of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, US Government Accountability Office:
      As a general matter, we will not consider a protest where the issue presented has no practical consequences with regard to an existing federal government procurement, and thus is of purely academic interest.
    • 2018 September 23, Eliot A. Cohen, “The Crisis of the American Elites”, in The Atlantic‎[1]:
      […] ; if you do not know, or care to know, much about critical theory, the writings of Butler are academic in the unflattering sense of that term. But in their world, they are, if not royalty, lords of the realm.
  5. Having a love of or aptitude for learning.
    I’m more academic than athletic — I get lower marks in phys. ed. than in anything else.
  6. (art) Conforming to set rules and traditions; conventional; formalistic. [from late 19th century][2]
    1. Subscribing to the architectural standards of Vitruvius.
      (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  7. So scholarly as to be unaware of the outside world; lacking in worldliness; inexperienced in practical matters.

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

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academic (plural academics)

  1. (usually capitalized) A follower of Plato, a Platonist. [First attested in the mid 16th century.][2]
  2. A senior member of an academy, college, or university; a person who attends an academy; a person engaged in scholarly pursuits; one who is academic in practice. [First attested in the late 16th century.][2]
    • 2013 September 7, “The multiplexed metropolis”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8852:
      Academics […] see integrated systems for collecting, processing and acting on data as offering a “second electrification” to the world’s metropolises.
  3. A member of the Academy; an academician. [First attested in the mid 18th century.][2]
    • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 4, member 2, subsection ii:
      Carneades the academick, when he was to write against Zeno the stoick, purged himself with hellebor first […].
  4. (archaic) A student in a college.
  5. (plural only) Academic dress; academicals. [First attested in the early 19th century.][2]
  6. (plural only) Academic studies. [First attested in the late 20th century.][2]
    • 2021 July 25, Jiedi Lei, and Ailsa Russell, “Understanding the role of self-determination in shaping university experiences for autistic and typically developing students in the United Kingdom”, in Autism‎[2], volume 25, number 5, →DOI, pages 1262–1278:
      Many spoke of an intense fear of failing one’s academics at university, which can both be highly motivating to secure academic success (sometimes at the cost of socialising), but can also immobilise one’s desire to try harder as it can be rather disappointing if one does not succeed. […] Many autistic students commonly reported viewing academics to be the most important aspect of university life and had a strong sense of persistence and self-determination to succeed. […] However, while some autistic students viewed socialising to be a source of threat that could jeopardise their academic success if indulged in, others highlighted the importance of social connections at university beyond that of academics.

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], →ISBN)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “academic”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.

Further reading

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Interlingua

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Adjective

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academic

  1. academic

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French académique, from Latin academicus.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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academic m or n (feminine singular academică, masculine plural academici, feminine and neuter plural academice)

  1. academic

Declension

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singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative-
accusative 		indefinite academic academică academici academice
definite academicul academica academicii academicele
genitive-
dative 		indefinite academic academice academici academice
definite academicului academicei academicilor academicelor
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