It’s the first day of school around here, and as another academic year begins, I am close to being the mother of FOUR teenagers, aged 13-19. (Mothering four young children takes lots of physical stamina, but mothering four teens? That takes emotional stamina, regular exercise, lots of wine, and a few close friends who are excellent listeners.)
Out of my four teens, two will be sophomores this year, one in college, one in high school. When I realized this fun fact, I had a flashback from my own high school years, when my very cultured world civ teacher explained to us that “sophomore” means “foolish wise person”.
As a 15 year old, I was offended. As a 48 year old mother, I get it.
Child number one has a year of college on his record, plus summer classes. He’s grown intellectually and emotionally (and physically, thanks to a weight lifting program), but it’s obvious that even though he’s a responsible young adult, he still has some growing to do.
Same for the high school sophomore. He’s much taller than me, survived freshman year unscathed, and feels pretty confident rolling into 10th grade. But he’s also learning how to drive, and this morning we careened through a curve because he didn’t brake enough going into the turn.
So much to learn. Luckily, both of my sophomores like learning.
According to Merriam-Webster, sophomore comes from the Greek words sophistēs, meaning “wise man” or “expert,” plus mōros, meaning “foolish.” (Word nerd note: we get the word moron from mōros.) A sophomore, therefore, is a “wise fool”.
Centuries ago, students at English universities like Cambridge and Oxford were called sophisters. Sophister could be used like philosopher, but it also frequently referred to young and not-yet-wise people with immature reasoning skills.
Fitting term, don’t you think?
Of course, eldest child studies at the University of Virginia, where the terms freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior aren’t used. Instead, students are called “first years”, “second years”, etc. The founder of The University, Thomas Jefferson, rejected the typical student labels, as “senior” implies a student has reached the highest level of learning, and Jefferson believed in life long education.
Did you know the backstory on sophomore? Do you think the word and its meaning accurately describe the sophomores you have known? Can you share any other interesting terms from academia?
If you like to learn new words and the origins of their meanings, visit the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme at Bermuda Onion. Each Wednesday, bloggers share new words they’ve learned.
Happy new school year, and thanks for getting nerdy with me.
