Meaning & use
professor emeritus
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableformal
A retired university professor who is allowed to keep the title as an honor.
Grammar: Title can come before a name: Professor Emeritus Lee.
Patterns
- professor emeritus of something
Dr. Garcia is professor emeritus of history at the university.
After forty years of teaching, he became a professor emeritus.
The professor emeritus still gives one lecture each year.
nouncountableformal
A retired teacher given a lasting honorary rank in a college, whether or not they still work there.
Grammar: Female form is professor emerita.
Patterns
- professor emerita of something
She was named professor emerita when she retired.
The college elected him professor emeritus in June.
The professor emerita still keeps an office on campus.
Word forms
| plural | professors emeriti |
|---|---|
| feminine | professor emerita |
Common combinations
- professor emeritus of history
- He is professor emeritus of history.
- named professor emeritus
- She was named professor emeritus.
- become professor emeritus
- He will become professor emeritus next year.
- honorary title
- Professor emeritus is an honorary title.
- retired as professor emeritus
- She retired as professor emerita.
Synonyms and how they differ
- retired professor
- Retired professor simply describes retirement, while professor emeritus is an official honorary title.
- professor emerita
- This is the feminine form, used for women, while emeritus is the masculine or general form.
- honorary professor
- An honorary professor may never have worked at the university, unlike an emeritus.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: professor emeritus or emeritus?
professor emeritus vs emeritus
Emeritus is the adjective for the title; professor emeritus is the full noun phrase.
Practice
After retiring from teaching, she kept the honorary title ______ and still attends faculty events.
Choose one answer.
Professor emerita is the honorary title for a retired woman professor. Assistant professor and visiting lecturer are active positions.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “professor emeritus”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.