Semester
nounOne of the two main divisions of an academic year at a school or university.
How to spell semester
8 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce semester
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does semester mean?
- nounOne of the two main divisions of an academic year at a school or university.
Semester in a sentence
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The first semester ends just before the winter break.
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She enrolled in four modules for the spring semester.
Where does semester come from?
Language of origin: Latin
Semester comes from the Latin adjective semestris, meaning 'lasting six months', which was built from sex 'six' and mensis 'month'. The literal idea was a span of six months, exactly half of a year. English did not take the word straight from Latin, however; it arrived through German Semester, the term used in German universities for a half-year course of study. The word entered English in the nineteenth century, carried along with the German model of higher education that many institutions admired and copied. The buried 'six' explains the spelling neatly: although a modern academic term may be longer or shorter than six months, the 'se-' at the front still records that original sense of half a year, and remembering 'sex' for six can stop you reaching for the wrong vowel.
How the word is built
- se- (from sex: six)
- -mester (from mensis: month)
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