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sophomore

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Ancient Greek σοφός (sophós)
Proto-Indo-European *-id-
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti
Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō
Ancient Greek -ίζω (-ízō)
Ancient Greek σοφίζω (sophízō)
Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥
Proto-Hellenic *-mə
Ancient Greek -μα (-ma)
Ancient Greek σόφισμα (sóphisma)bor.
English sophum, sophom
Proto-Indo-European *-yósder.
Proto-Italic *-āzios
Latin -āriusnom.
Latin -āriusbor.
Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz
Proto-West Germanic *-ārī
Old English -ere
Middle English -ere
English -er
English sophumerder.
English sophomore

    From earlier sophumer, from the obsolete sophom, sophum (“sophism or dialectical exercise”), from Ancient Greek σόφισμα (sóphisma). Likely influenced by Ancient Greek σοφός (sophós, “wise”) + μωρός (mōrós, “fool”). Compare oxymoron (literally “sharp-dull”), a similar contradiction.

    Pronunciation

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    Adjective

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    sophomore (not comparable)

    1. (US) The second in a series, especially, the second of an artist’s albums or the second of four years in a high school (tenth grade) or university.
      Coordinate term: debut
      The band’s sophomore album built upon the success of their debut release, catapulting them to megastardom.
      • 2016 August 21, Joe Coscarelli, “Frank Ocean Finally Delivers His Album, and a Pop-Up Surprise”, in The New York Times‎[1], →ISSN, archived from the original on 8 November 2020:
        “Blonde,” which is spelled “Blond” on the album cover and “Blonde” on Apple and elsewhere, hews more closely to what was expected from a sophomore release by one of the most lauded and enigmatic young singers in pop music.
      • 2020 June 30, Spencer Wright, “My fraternity taught me the secret to surviving a pandemic”, in CNN‎[2]:
        I pledged for DKA my sophomore year and went through a rigorous process of weekly meetings and projects, each designed to build fraternal bonds and to teach values such as honesty, reliability and generosity.
      • 2021 March 5, Jason Bailey, “Watch These 13 Titles on Netflix Before They Leave This Month”, in The New York Times‎[3], →ISSN, archived from the original on 6 March 2021:
        Spike Lee’s sophomore film, after his micro-budgeted and critically acclaimed debut, “She’s Gotta Have It,” was this big, bold ensemble musical set on the campus of a Historically Black College over a busy homecoming weekend.
    2. Sophomoric.

    Translations

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    Noun

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    sophomore (plural sophomores)

    1. (US, Philippines) A second-year undergraduate student in a college or university, or a second-year student in a four-year secondary school or high school.
      She was very mature for a sophomore and had several friends who were juniors or even seniors.
    2. (US, horse-racing) A three-year-old horse.
      The filly had looked promising as a sophomore, but concerns over her health had prompted the owner to pull her from the season’s early races.

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    Further reading

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    Anagrams

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