pupil

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English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈpjuːpəl/
  • Hyphenation: pu‧pil
  • Audio (GA)
    		(file)
  • Rhymes: -uːpəl

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English pupille, from Anglo-Norman pupille (“orphan”), from Latin pūpillus (“orphan, minor”), variant of pūpulus (“little boy”), from pūpus (“child, boy”).

Noun[edit]

pupil (plural pupils)

  2. A learner under the supervision of a teacher or professor.
    • 1668 December 19, James Dalrymple, “Mr. Alexander Seaton contra Menzies” in The Deciſions of the Lords of Council & Seſſion I (Edinburgh, 1683), page 575
      The Pupil after his Pupillarity, had granted a Diſcharge to one of the Co-tutors, which did extinguiſh the whole Debt of that Co-tutor, and conſequently of all the reſt, they being all correi debendi, lyable by one individual Obligation, which cannot be Diſcharged as to one, and ſtand as to all the reſt.
    • 2013 July 19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30:
      Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.
  3. (law, obsolete) An orphan who is a minor and under the protection of the state.
Usage notes[edit]
  • A pupil is typically a young person, such as a schoolchild. Older learners, e.g. at university, are generally called students.
Translations[edit]
See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

From Middle English pupille, from Old French pupille, from Latin pūpilla (“pupil; little girl, doll”), named because of the small reflected image seen when looking into someone's eye.

Noun[edit]

pupil (plural pupils)

  1. (anatomy) The hole in the middle of the iris of the eye, through which light passes to be focused on the retina.
    • 1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 29:
      There are sharks with round pupils, sharks with slitlike pupils, and some with pupils that expand and contract with the amount of light available. As unimpressive as this might sound to people who are used to having their pupils dilate and contract regularly, realize that no bony fish has this modification of the eye.
  2. (zoology) The central dark part of an ocellated spot.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

External links[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Danish[edit]

Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia da

Etymology[edit]

From Latin pūpilla (“little girl”), diminutive of pūpa (“girl”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /pupil/, [pʰuˈpʰilˀ]

Noun[edit]

pupil c (singular definite pupillen, plural indefinite pupiller)

  1. pupil (the hole in the middle of the iris of the eye)

Declension[edit]

Declension of pupil
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative pupil pupillen pupiller pupillerne
genitive pupils pupillens pupillers pupillernes

References[edit]

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /pyˈpɪl/
  • Hyphenation: pu‧pil
  • Rhymes: -ɪl

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle Dutch pupille, from Old French pupille, from Latin pūpilla.

Noun[edit]

pupil f (plural pupillen, diminutive pupilletje n)

  1. pupil (aperture of the eye)
    Synonym: oogappel

Etymology 2[edit]

Borrowed from Middle French pupille, from Latin pūpillus.

Noun[edit]

pupil m (plural pupillen, diminutive pupilletje n)

  1. (chiefly sports) minor, generally a prepubescent child over the age of 5
  2. favoured student, protégé
  3. institutionalised pupil (one who receives an upbringing or education in an institution)
  4. (archaic) orphan
    Synonym: wees

Malay[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English pupil, from Middle French pupille, from Latin pūpilla (“pupil; little girl, doll”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

pupil (Jawi spelling ڤوڤيل‎, plural pupil-pupil, informal 1st possessive pupilku, impolite 2nd possessive pupilmu, 3rd possessive pupilnya)

  1. (anatomy) pupil (the hole in the middle of the iris of the eye)

Synonyms[edit]

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