Emeritus
Origin
Latin ēmeritus that has served his time (said of a soldier), past participle of ēmerēri to earn (one's discharge) by service
Emereri itself is a compound of the prefix e- (a variant of ex-) meaning "out of or from" and merēre meaning "earn." Emeritus does not necessarily indicate that the person is retired from all the duties of her/his previous positions; he or she may continue to exercise some of them.
Definitions
- 1:one retired from professional life but permitted to retain as an honorary title the rank of the last office held
Description
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita (/ɨˈmɛrɨtə/) is also sometimes used.
In many cases the term is conferred automatically upon all persons who retire at a given rank. This is the usual case for retired professors. In other cases it is used when a person of importance in a given profession retires and/or hands over the position, so that his former rank can still be used in his title.
In America the word is used either as a postpositional adjective (e.g., "professor emeritus") or as a preposition adjective (e.g., "emeritus professor"). There is a third, somewhat less common usage, following the full title (e.g.,professor of medicine, emeritus.)
In the United Kingdom and most other parts of the world, the term 'Emeritus Professor' is given only to people who already had full professoral status before they retired. Those with PhDs or other higher degrees would not be entitled to call themselves a 'Emeritus Professor' upon retirement. The term "Professor Emeritus" would not be recognised in the UK. The word is capitalized when it forms part of a title which is capitalized.
