"3 entries found for alumnus. a·lum·nus ( P ) Pronunciation Key (-lmns) n. pl. a·lum·ni (-n) A male graduate or former student of a school, college, or university. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Latin, pupil, from alere, to nourish. See al-2 in Indo-European Roots.] Usage Note: Alumnus and alumna both come from Latin and preserve Latin plurals. Alumnus is a masculine noun whose plural is alumni, and alumna is a feminine noun whose plural is alumnae. Coeducational institutions usually use alumni for graduates of both sexes. But those who object to masculine forms in such cases may prefer the phrase alumni and alumnae or the form alumnae/i, which is the choice of many women's colleges that have begun to admit men. Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved." http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=alumnus --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "alumnus (lmns) Pl. -i. The nurseling or pupil of any school, university, or other seat of learning. Also, a graduate or former student (chiefly U.S., esp. in pl.). " OED Online
I love Latin, having studied it for 4 years in high school. (I took Latin 'O'-level and 'A'-level.) I would never say "an alumni" myself. But many people do. On Web pages, people use "alumni" for the singular about 35% of the time. (Google finds 394 instances of "an alumni I" versus 719 instances of "an alumnus I".) Nor is it new. An LP that I have by the Cornell Glee Club Hangovers uses "this alumni" in a spoken introduction to a song, recorded in 1974. It's not unheard-of for a foreign plural to become an English singular: "agenda", "zucchini".
I see nothing wrong with such usage as long as the phrase employs the correct verb. Witness the following: WRONG: I am an alumni. CORRECT: I are an alumni.
I love a good laugh at any time, but at the end of of long day, it is especially delightful. Thanks! Mary
Well, just watch 'em when this non-yupp goes into the so-called cafe at Barnes and Noble and asks for a biscotto.
We are alumni, you will be assimilated! Resistance is futile! - Quote from the University of The Borg Alumni Foundation
No, no, no. Geez! Where you be an alumni from? Alumni be a plurality. It requires a verb with the same degree of pluraliatosis. Therefore, I are an alumni be correct.
Gus, Of course, you are right...how silly of me! I actually meant to say... I bees an alumnus but we be alumni. Tony
