laureate

UK/ˈlɒɹ.i.ət/US/ˈlɔ.ɹi.ət/

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,508 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: laureates

A laureate is somebody honoured with a great prize. A Nobel laureate, the poet laureate, laureates and nominees.

The Poet Laureate is a royal appointment in Britain, held for ten years, and the traditional payment includes a butt of sherry. The Latin is a crown of laurel, which is what the Greeks gave victors.

Definitions of laureate

1nounlaureateSomebody honoured with a great prize.C1
“The Nobel laureate gave a talk to students about her prize-winning research.”

laureate is a person.

Where it comes from

Latin laureatus means crowned with laurel, from laurea, a laurel wreath.

Latin
laureātus
English, today
laureate

Built from

laurea · Latin — laurel crown, wreath
laureus · Latin — of laurel
laurus · Latin — laurel

First attested during the end of the 15th century, in Middle English; Latin laureātus, from laurea (“laurel crown, wreath”) + -ātus (see -ate and -ate), from laureus (“of laurel”), from laurus (“laurel”). The verb was formed by metanalysis, see -ate. Cognate with French lauréat.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

laureate in the wild

Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) of Arezzo were the first to be crowned poets laureate after the classical age, respectively in 1315 and 1342.
Poet laureate
Many of the states in the United States have established the post of poet laureate to which a prominent poet residing in the respective state is appointed.
List of U.S. state poets laureate
As of 2017, 46 states and the District of Columbia have poets laureate, although a few are presently vacant.
List of U.S. state poets laureate
Each recipient, a Nobelist or laureate, receives a gold medal, a diploma, and a sum of money which is decided annually by the Nobel Foundation.
List of Nobel laureates
Herrera was the 21st United States poet laureate from 2015 to 2017.
Juan Felipe Herrera

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the laurus family

laurel

laureate — used about once every 23,598 pages · #13,508 · point at the bar for the others

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