The term alma mater is used to refer to the university as an institution, but it is also common to find it in references to a person driving a specific event.
Each time it is used in this second case, an error is made, since alma mater is a feminine noun phrase that metaphorically points to the university and its function of feeding knowledge.
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The term alma mater comes from Latin. The first word refers to "nurture", while "mater" refers to mother. So we can say that the term means "the nurturing mother", or "nurturing mother."
But there is more: "soul" is the feminine form of the adjective "almus", derived from the same root as the verb "alo" which means "to feed", "to sustain", "to care". So "soul" will mean nourishment, which gives fertile life; and from the same root it is "alimentum", "food" and also "alumnus", that is, student.
That is why this expression is associated with the world of the university, given that this institution (mother) intellectually enriches her children (students) for the future.
Origin of the locution
Reviewing the history books we find that the term alma mater began to be used in Ancient Rome, where they referred to different mother goddesses, such as Ceres, goddess of agriculture and crops; Venus, goddess of fertility; and Tellus, "alma mater" of the earth.
Then, with the fall of the Roman Empire and the arrival of Christianity (back in the 4th and 5th centuries), the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus and the one in charge of nurturing faith in believers, began to be called alma mater.
The idea of mother goddess was taken up much later by the University of Bologna in Italy, which was specialized in law, with the first "legis doctor" graduates from the institution in the 70s of the 11th century.
It can be pointed out that this house of studies has been named a university from 1088 and since then it has been under the official name of "Alma Mater Studiorum". This institution is the oldest in the world that continues to function uninterruptedly and clearly, one of the most prestigious. Thus, from it, many universities adopted the term.
Some of the universities based in Europe that have "alma mater" in their names are Liepzig in Germany (Alma Mater Lipsiensis, founded in 1409); that of Krakow in Poland (Alma Mater Jagiellonian, founded in 1364); and that of Salzburg in Austria (Alma Mater Europaea, created in 1662); among many others.
Another reference associated with the term but not strictly with the university is the case of the College of William & Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia in the United States. This public university (one of the most renowned, most of them in that country are private) was founded in 1693 and is popularly called the “alma mater of the nation”, due to the fact that some of the country's founders studied there (independent since 1783), such as Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Tyler.
Meanings and examples
We have already seen that in Spanish alma mater refers to the university. However, in English the term encompasses more houses of study, such as the school and even the hymns of each educational institution.
It is very common to read the term alma mater in some journalistic publications, such as: "Diego Maradona was the alma mater of the 1986 Argentine champion of Mexico."
In this case, alma mater refers to a person who was the facilitator or mentor of a specific event or event. However, in the example we gave there are two errors, since when it is used as an adjective, we must say, or write, "the» alma mater, and not "the" alma mater, since it is not a noun.
The second mistake is the way it was used, which comes from the confusion between the Latin adjective "soul" (protagonist of this article) and the Spanish noun "the soul." So, the correct thing is to use the Latin term only when referring to universities, since otherwise it is not typical of the same.
On the other hand, from alma mater comes another word widely used in education: enrollment. It is a diminutive in Latin of "matrix" (matrix), and means "record" or "inscription". That is why to access a university, college, college or any type of course, you must first pay a registration fee, which is generally paid only once a year.
Another meaning that universities give to "alma mater" is that many call their official anthem that way, as we mentioned above. For example, so does Harvard University in the United States, one of the most prestigious in the world.
Finally, in Spain, in the year 1538 a series of relevant publications from different periods were printed that used this term. For example, in the "Statutes Made by the University of Salamanca" (founded in 1218), as well as in works by Tito Livio (Roman historian) or Pedro Sánchez Ciruelo (mathematician and theologian of Spanish origin), they refer to the "alma mater" as editor of the same.
In other words, in that year the universities began to be the editors of various publications and books, at least openly, as was explicit in Juan Vaseo's work, "Collectania Rethorices", where "Impressum Alma Salamticenis Academia" was written..
Of course, later you can read "alma mater" in different titles of songs, movies and even awards that are awarded by renowned institutions, which are not always linked to the academic field.
The truth is that alma mater is synonymous with intellectual cultivation, knowledge and teaching of excellence by a university, which ranges from civilian to military universities.
References
- Alma Mater (2019). Royal Spanish Academy. Recovered from: dle.rae.es/?id=1x85zCG
- Antonio Pérez Martín. (1999). "Spaniards in the Alma Mater Studiorum". Recovered from: books.google.bg
- Heriberto Camacho Becerra (2004). "Manuel of Greco-Latin etymologies". Recovered from: books.google.bg
- «The Old Spanish Book». Recovered from: books.google.bg
- Royal Spanish Academy (2205). Prehispanic Dictionary of Doubt. Recovered from: lema.rae.es
- Cambridge Dictionary (2019). Recovered from: dictionary.cambridge.org
- New York Times (2017). "Harvard Alma Mater". Recovered from: nytimes.com