Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother". It was used in ancient Rome as a title for the mother goddess, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin Mary. In modern times it is used to refer to the university or college a person attends or attended.
History
This term is from the motto ("Alma Mater Studiorum"),the oldest European, continually-operating, degree-granting university (the University of Bologna, in Italy, founded in A.D. 1088) located in the city of Bologna. This is also a term used in the Latin society.
Uses in academia
As a reference to an academic institution
In many modern languages it is usually and principally heard as a term of academia; thus, in the English language, it is often used in place of the name of the university or college a person has attended or graduated from. In American English, it may also be used in reference to the high school that an individual has attended.
As a song
In addition to this, alma mater may be the incipit, the first line, of a school's anthem or song, and may be taken as a title for the genre. The term is more familiar in the United States than in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term often refers to the entire school song as opposed to simply the opening.
Uses in popular culture
- "Alma Mater" is a song performed by the Portuguese gothic metal and black metal band Moonspell, from the album Wolfheart in 1995.
- In Chuck Berry's 1972 number one hit "My Ding-A-Ling", a live recording. Chuck can be heard saying to the audience, "We must do our Alma Mater". He then gets the females and males in the audience to sing alternate parts of the chorus.
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