Academics

How to spell academics

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce academics

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does academics mean?

1. nounSubjects studied at school or university, especially those involving theory and intellectual work rather than practical or vocational skills.
2. nounPeople who teach or carry out research at a university or college.

Academics in a sentence

• He balanced his academics with a part-time job at the library.

• A panel of leading academics reviewed the proposed reforms.

• The college is known for strong academics and modest sports facilities.

• The conference brought together academics from a dozen countries.

Where does academics come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek Akademeia, the name of the grove and gymnasium just outside ancient Athens where Plato taught his pupils. The grove itself was named after a local hero, Akademos, so the home of philosophy borrowed its title from a piece of mythology. Latin took the place name as academia, and by way of French academie it entered English in the 1500s as a word for a place of higher learning. The adjective 'academic' followed, meaning 'relating to scholarship', and the plural 'academics' developed two everyday senses: the studies themselves and the scholars who pursue them. The single 'c' followed by 'demic' is the spelling trap, since the soft and hard sounds tempt writers to double letters that are not there.

How the word is built

• academ- (from Akademeia, Plato's school)
• -ic (adjective/noun suffix)
• -s (plural)