Emeritus
Emeritus (/əˈmɛrɪtəs/; female version: emerita)[Note 1] is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".[1]
For the Scarface album, see Emeritus (album). For the eldercare company, see Emeritus Senior Living.
In some cases, the term is conferred automatically upon all persons who retire at a given rank, but in others, it remains a mark of distinguished service awarded selectively on retirement. It is also used when a person of distinction in a profession retires or hands over the position, enabling their former rank to be retained in their title. The term emeritus does not necessarily signify that a person has relinquished all the duties of their former position, and they may continue to exercise some of them.
In descriptions of deceased professors emeriti listed at U.S. universities, the title emeritus is replaced by an indication of the years of their appointments,[2] except in obituaries, where it may be used to indicate their status at the time of death.[2]
Etymology[edit]
Emeritus (past participle of Latin emerere, meaning "complete one's service") is a compound of the Latin prefix e- (variant of ex-) meaning "out of, from" and merere (source of "merit") meaning "to serve, earn". The word is attested since the early 17th century with the meaning "having served out one's time, having done sufficient service." The Latin feminine equivalent, emerita (/ɪˈmɛrɪtə/), is also sometimes used, although in English the word emeritus is often unmarked for gender.[3]