emeritus

Meaning

Adj

Retired, but retaining an honorific version of a previous title.

Noun

1. A (male) person who is retired from active service or an occupation, especially one who retains an honorific version of a previous title.
2. An honorific version of a previous title.

Concepts

emeritus

retired

honorary

titular

titulary

solitary

Hyphenated as

eme‧ri‧tus

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɪˈmɛɹɪtəs/

Etymology

PIE word
*h₁eǵʰs
The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin ēmeritus (“(having been) earned, (having been) merited; (having been) served, having done one’s service”), the perfect passive participle of ēmereō (“to earn, merit; to gain by service; (military) to complete one’s obligation to serve, to serve out one’s time”), from ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’) + mereō (“to deserve, merit; to acquire, earn, get, obtain; to render service to; to serve”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to allot; to assign”)).
The noun is derived from the adjective. The plural form emeriti is borrowed from Latin ēmeritī.