Laureate

How to spell laureate

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce laureate

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does laureate mean?

1. nounA person who has been formally honoured for outstanding achievement in a field such as science, literature, or peace.
2. adjectiveHolding a position or title of distinction, especially as in 'poet laureate'.

Laureate in a sentence

• noun

  The physicist became a Nobel laureate for her work on quantum measurement.

• adjective

  The poet laureate was asked to compose verses for the coronation.

• noun

  Each laureate delivered a short acceptance speech before the banquet.

• adjective

  As the nation's poet laureate, he read his work at the memorial service.

Where does laureate come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin laureatus, meaning 'crowned with laurel', which was formed from laurea, a 'laurel crown' or 'laurel branch', ultimately from laurus, the laurel tree itself. In the ancient world a wreath of laurel leaves was placed on the heads of victorious generals, athletes and celebrated poets, so the leaf became a lasting emblem of honour and achievement. English took the word up in the late 1300s, and by the 1600s the title 'poet laureate' had become an official appointment for a court poet in Britain. The same laurel root survives in everyday words such as 'laurel' and even in the expression to 'rest on one's laurels', meaning to coast on past success. The spelling trap sits in the unstressed middle, since the 'eate' ending sounds like a faint 'ee-it' rather than the way it looks.

How the word is built

• laure- (laurel, from Latin laurus)
• -ate (adjective/noun suffix meaning 'provided with' or 'marked by')