# Alma mater
**Alma mater** (Latin, literally "nourishing mother") is a phrase used in modern English to mean the school, college, or university that a person attended and, usually, graduated from. It also denotes the official song or anthem of such an institution.[1](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/alma-mater) The term carries an emotional association: it is typically used by graduates who keep in touch with former classmates, follow the school's fortunes, and continue to identify with it after leaving.[1](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/alma-mater)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Literal meaning | Latin *alma māter*, "nourishing mother"; *alma* is the feminine of *almus*, "nourishing," from *alere*, "to nourish, rear, support"[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Alma%20Mater) |
| Roman use | A title given by Romans to certain goddesses, especially Ceres and Cybele[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Alma%20Mater) |
| First English record | Late 14th century in the literal religious sense; the general sense "somebody or something providing nourishment" is recorded from the mid 17th century[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Alma%20Mater) • [3](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/alma-mater) |
| School sense | Use of the Latin phrase for "one's university or school" is attested from 1710[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Alma%20Mater) |
| Plural | *alma maters*[1](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/alma-mater) |
| Second meaning | The official anthem of a school, college, or university[1](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/alma-mater) |
## Etymology
The phrase combines two Latin words. **Alma** is the feminine form of the adjective *almus*, "nourishing," built on the verb *alere*, "to nourish, rear, support, maintain," which descends from the Proto-Indo-European root \*al- meaning "to grow, nourish." **Māter** is the ordinary Latin word for mother, from the Proto-Indo-European root \*mater-.[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Alma%20Mater)
In classical Latin, *alma* worked mainly as a religious epithet. The Romans gave the title to certain goddesses, above all Ceres and Cybele.[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Alma%20Mater) Danish classical scholarship records a wider pattern: *alma* appears as an epithet of goddesses including Venus, Athena, and Diana, not only mother goddesses, and was also applied to cities such as Rome and Carthage and to the life-giving earth, notably by the poet [Lucretius](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucretius).[4](https://lex.dk/alma_mater)
The phrase entered Christian use in the medieval period, where it became associated with the Virgin Mary. Around 1000 CE it appeared in the Catholic hymn *Alma redemptoris mater*, "nurturing mother of the redeemer."[4](https://lex.dk/alma_mater)
## Adoption by universities
The fixed phrase *alma mater* as a name for an educational institution is known from the early modern period onward. In English, the use of the Latin phrase for "one's university or school" is attested from 1710.[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Alma%20Mater) [Reference](https://www.edgepedia.org/reference) works of English etymology cite the first university-related usage in that same year, in a remembrance of the philosopher [Henry More](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-more) by Richard Ward.[5](https://davidfauquemberg.com/home/fauquemb/david/bbdg_site/userfiles/file/tofoko.pdf)
The oldest continuing link with a university is at Bologna. The [University of Bologna](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-bologna), generally regarded as the oldest university in Europe, arising at the end of the 11th century, carries on its seal the motto **Alma Mater Studiorum**, "nurturing mother of studies."[4](https://lex.dk/alma_mater) Medieval universities also used related epithets such as *mater universitas* and *alma universitas*, and in the Middle Ages the phrase became a general epithet of universities, a use that survives especially in English-speaking countries.[6](https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/alma-mater/)
## Modern meanings and usage
In contemporary English the primary sense is the school, college, or university from which someone graduated. It most commonly refers to a college or university but can also be applied to a high school.[1](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/alma-mater) The American Heritage Dictionary defines it more broadly as the school, college, or university that one has attended.[7](https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=alma+mater) A secondary sense, chiefly American, is the official song or anthem of an institution, as in a reunion that opens with everyone singing the school's alma mater.[1](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/alma-mater)
**Style conventions.** University style guides agree that the phrase is lowercased when it refers to the school one attended, and is not italicized. Treatment of the song varies: the [University of Georgia](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-georgia) writes the song as "Alma Mater" in upper case with quotation marks, while [Colgate University](https://www.edgepedia.org/colgate-university) lowercases the term for both the school and the song.[8](https://brand.uga.edu/writing-style/styleguide/alma_mater/) • [9](https://www.colgate.edu/about/offices-centers-institutes/university-communications/editorial-style-guide)
The term is frequent in [American English](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-english) and less so elsewhere. In Danish, for example, it appears in a foreign-word dictionary of 1837 but is otherwise used sparingly, while the phrase is common in the United States.[4](https://lex.dk/alma_mater) It also surfaces in journalism whenever a graduate's success reflects on the institution, as when Ken Griffin, founder of Citadel and a Harvard alumnus, was reported to have given more than $500 million to his alma mater over four decades.[1](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/alma-mater)
## Related word
The noun **alumnus** (plural *alumni*), "a graduate or former student," shares the same Latin root as *alma*: it comes from *alumnus*, "fosterling, step-child," a derivative of *alere*, the same verb that underlies *almus*. The school nourishes; the graduate is the one nourished.[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Alma%20Mater)
## References
1. [alma mate - Definition & Meaning, Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/alma-mater)
2. [Alma Mater - Origin & Meaning of the Phrase, Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Alma%20Mater)
3. [alma mater noun, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/alma-mater)
4. [alma mater, Lex (Den Store Danske / Gyldendal)](https://lex.dk/alma_mater)
5. [Alma mater - meaning and etymology (summary of etymological references)](https://davidfauquemberg.com/home/fauquemb/david/bbdg_site/userfiles/file/tofoko.pdf)
6. [Alma mater, Treccani Vocabolario](https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/alma-mater/)
7. [alma mater, American Heritage Dictionary](https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=alma+mater)
8. [alma mater, UGA Brand Style Guide](https://brand.uga.edu/writing-style/styleguide/alma_mater/)
9. [Editorial Style and Usage Guide, Colgate University](https://www.colgate.edu/about/offices-centers-institutes/university-communications/editorial-style-guide)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Education and knowledge institutions › Higher education › Higher education (overview and history of the subject)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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