different between alum vs alumnus

English

Alternative forms

• alumn

Etymology 1

From Middle English alum, alum, alym, alyme, from Anglo-Norman alum, alun, from Latin al?men.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?æl.?m/
• Homophone: Allam

Noun

alum (countable and uncountable, plural alums)

1. An astringent salt, usually occurring in the form of pale crystals, much used in the dyeing and tanning trade and in certain medicines, and now understood to be a double sulphate of potassium and aluminium (K₂SO₄·Al₂(SO₄)₃·24H₂O). [from 14th c.]
   • 1991, Felix Gilbert, The Pope, His Banker, and Venice, page 80,

     Venice also needed alum for trade, since it was the point of departure for overland transportation of alum to southern Germany and its cloth-manufacturing Free Cities.

   • 2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin 2012, p. 201:

     A natural astringent and antiseptic, potassium alum was coveted for its medicinal and cosmetic properties.

2. (chemistry) Any similar double sulphate in which either or both of the potassium and aluminium is wholly or partly replaced by other univalent or tervalent cations. [from 17th c.]
   • 1807, William Nicholson (editor), A Journal of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and the Arts, Volume XVIII, page 286,

     With weld and cochineal, which are colouring matters the most sensible to the action of sulphate of iron, the purified alums gave us colours more brilliant, fresh, and in a slight degree lighter; while those with our common alums were all duller, and evidently of a deeper hue.

   • 2000 June, Competition Science Vision, page 486,

     For similar reasons, aluminium sulphate and alums are used in dyeing cloth. […] Normally alums are soluble in water and insoluble in alcohols.

   • 2005, Amit Arora, Text Book Of Inorganic Chemistry, page 386,

     In structure, the alums consist of simple ions, being not complexes, but double salts. Potash alum or potassium alum is the common alum, with the formula KAl(SO₄)₂·12H₂O) which, for convenience, may be written K₂SO₄·Al₂(SO₄)₃·24H₂O

Synonyms

• (double sulphate of potassium and aluminum): potash alum

Derived terms

Related terms

• aluminiferous, aluniferous
• aluminiform
• aluminilite
• aluminise, aluminize
• aluminite
• aluminous
• alunite
• alunogen

Translations

See also

• apjohnite
• bosjemanite
• halotrichite
• kalinite
• websterite

Verb

alum (third-person singular simple present alums, present participle aluming, simple past and past participle alumed)

1. (transitive) To steep in, or otherwise impregnate with, a solution of alum; to treat with alum.
   • 1839, Andrew Ure, A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines

     The silk should be boiled at the rate of 20 parts of soap per cent. , and then alumed. The aluming need not be so strong as for the fine crimson

Derived terms

• unalumed

Translations

Etymology 2

From alumnus and alumna (> alumn- > alum), by the removal of the originally Latin gender-specific nominative singular case endings -us (masculine) and -a (feminine).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??l?m/

Noun

alum (plural alums)

1. (shortening, Canada, US) A past attendee or graduate (of either gender) of a college, university or other educational institution.
   • 1961 Spring, Anchora of Delta Gamma, Volume LXXVII, No. 3, page 59,

     Evanston-North Shore alums are happy to open their homes to Sigma actives for special social events.

   • 2006, Ted Hart, James M. Greenfield, Pamela M. Gignac, Christopher Carnie, Major Donors: Finding Big Gifts in Your Database and Online, page 47,

     You'll remember that we're starting with a list of slightly over 7,000 names that are alums (most of them over 50) that we'd like to whittle down to a manageable list of prospects.

   • 2009, Timothy C. Jacobson, Charity & Merit: Trinity School at 300, page 190,

     All schools that last have alums, and, ancient as it was by American standards, Trinity by mid-century had thousands.

Synonyms

• (of any gender): alumni (often proscribed), alumnx

Hyponyms

• (the original Latin gender-specific loanwords): alumna (feminine), alumnus (of unspecified gender or masculine)

Anagrams

• Lamu, luma, malu, maul, mula

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *?lom, from Proto-Indo-European *h?eHlu (“esculent root”), uncertainly reconstructed. Related to Sanskrit ??? (?lu, “esculent root”), whence Hindi ??? (?lu, “potato, yam”), and the culinary borrowing, English aloo (“potato”), Latin allium (“garlic”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?a?.lum/, [?ä??????]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?a.lum/, [???lum]

Noun

?lum n (genitive ?l?); second declension

1. A plant, the comfrey

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

References

• alum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• alum in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Latvian

Noun

alum m

1. dative singular form of alus

Middle English

Noun

alum

1. Alternative form of alym

Old French

Alternative forms

• allum, alun

Etymology

From Latin al?men.

Noun

alum m (oblique plural aluns, nominative singular aluns, nominative plural alum)

1. alum

Descendants

• French: alun
• ? Middle English: alym, alyme, alum, alume, alumme, alom, alome
  • English: alum
  • Scots: aum, awm, alm

References

• alum on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin alumnus (literally “foster child, nourished one”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??l?mn?s/

Noun

alumnus (plural alumni or alumnuses, feminine alumna)

1. A male pupil or student.
2. A male graduate.
3. A student of any gender.
4. A graduate of any gender.

Usage notes

Alumnus is used when the gender of the subject is unspecified.

Any alumnus may be invited to the reunion.

Hypernyms

• (of any gender): alum or alumn, alumni (often proscribed), alumnx

Related terms

• alumnae/alumnæ
• alum
• alma mater
• alimony
• alimentary

Translations

Indonesian

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin alumnus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?al?mn?s]
• Hyphenation: alum?nus

Noun

alumnus (first-person possessive alumnusku, second-person possessive alumnusmu, third-person possessive alumnusnya)

1. alumnus.

Alternative forms

• alumni

Further reading

• “alumnus” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

Latin

Etymology

• From Proto-Italic *alomanos, from Proto-Indo-European *h?el-o-mh?no- (“being nourished”), mediopassive participle (see *-mh?nos) of *h?el- (“to nourish, grow”) (whence al?).
• Alternatively from Proto-Indo-European *h?el- (“to nourish, grow”) + *-mno- (see *-mn?).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /a?lum.nus/, [ä????mn?s?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a?lum.nus/, [??lumnus]

Adjective

alumnus (feminine alumna, neuter alumnum); first/second-declension adjective

1. Nourished, fostered, etc.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Noun

alumnus m (genitive alumn?); second declension

1. Nursling, pupil
2. foster son.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Descendants

• English: alumnus
• Catalan: alumne
• Italian: alunno
• Portuguese: aluno
• Spanish: alumno

References

• alumnus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• alumnus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• alumnus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• alumnus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette