Abiturient

Abiturient

See also: abiturient

English

Alternative forms

• abiturient

Etymology

Borrowed from German Abiturient, from Latin abiturire (“wish to leave”).[1]

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /æ.bit.u.ɹiˈɛnt/

Noun

Abiturient (plural Abiturienten or Abiturients)

1. A pupil / student in the German education system who is taking, or who has taken and passed, the Abitur. [Mid 19^th century.][1]
   • 1875, The Southern Review, volume 16, number 33, page 195:

     If we examine the statistics of the German Gymnasia, we shall find that an Abiturient very rarely leaves a Gymnasium so young as eighteen, [...]

   • 1900, Elbert Francis Baldwin, The Educational Value of the Social Side of Student Life, III, In Germany, in The Outlook, page 804:

     He is already an Abiturient, a graduate of a gymnasium, one who has completed enough preparatory studies to turn directly, if need be, to professional work, [...]

   • 1958, Journal of the Royal Institute of Chemistry, volume 82, page 528:

     (3) an Abiturient, minimum age 19, needs a practical course of ½ year and 2-2½ years at Chemieschule (day classes). An Abiturient is a student who has passed the matriculation examination after 9 years (8 in Austria) at secondary school.

   • 2000 February 22, "Peter Alfke" (username), "German Education", in soc.culture.german, Usenet:

     Well, obviously a bright kid, but: When he got his Abitur (final exam at the Gymnasium), he had already the German equivalent of a 2-year US college education behind him. Nobody in his/her right mind would compare a US high-school graduate with an Abiturient. There is a two-year difference. The US public school system goes for only 12 years, and starts one year earlier than the German one.

Usage notes

• (German pupil): This noun is often used attributively, as in Abiturient examination.

References

1. “Abiturient” in Lesley Brown, editor, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 5.

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German

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

Abiturient m (genitive Abiturienten, plural Abiturienten, female Abiturientin)

1. A pupil / student who is taking, or who has taken and passed, the Abitur. (male or of unspecified sex) (roughly, high-school graduate)

Declension

Declension of Abiturient

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Abiturient	die	Abiturienten
genitive	eines	des	Abiturienten	der	Abiturienten
dative	einem	dem	Abiturienten	den	Abiturienten
accusative	einen	den	Abiturienten	die	Abiturienten

Synonyms

• Maturand (Swiss)
• Maturant (Austrian)
• Studienberechtigter

Derived terms

• Einser-Abiturient, Einserabiturient (person who has passed the Abitur with an A grade)

Related terms

• Abitur

Further reading

• Abiturient in Duden online