Emeritus

Emeritus (; plural emeriti; abbreviation emer.) 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 () 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.

The word originated in the mid-18th century from Latin as the past participle of emereri meaning 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.

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Category:Social titles Category:Academia Category:Latin adjectives in current use Category:Academic honours