sophomore

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From earlier sophumer, from the obsolete sophom (“sophism or dialectical exercise”), likely influenced by Ancient Greek σοφός (sophos, “wise”) + μωρός (mōros, “fool”). Compare oxymoron (literally “sharp-dull”), a similar contradiction.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈsɒfəmɔː/
• (US) IPA: /ˈsɑːfmɔːɹ/

Adjective

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.

   The band’s sophomore album built upon the success of their debut release, catapulting them to megastardom.

Translations

second in a series

• Afrikaans: tweede (af), opvolg- (af)
• Dutch: tweede (nl), opvolg- (nl)

• Portuguese: secundanista (pt), secundarista (pt) m and f
• Swedish: andra (sv), tvåa (sv)

Noun

sophomore (plural sophomores)

1. (US) 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

• sophomoric

Related terms

• moron
• oxymoron
• sophy, -sophy

Translations

second-year student

• Dutch: tweedejaars (nl) c
• Estonian: teise kursuse tudeng (et)
• Finnish: toisen vuoden opiskelija
• Hungarian: másodéves (hu)

• Japanese: 二年生 (ja) (にねんせい, ninensei)
• Macedonian: сафомор (mk) (sáfomor) m
• Russian: второкурсник (ru) (vtorokúrsnik) m, второкурсница (ru) (vtorokúrsnica) f

three year old horse

References

• Answers.com article on “sophomore”

Anagrams

• homospore