Alma mater

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For other uses, see Alma mater (disambiguation).

Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother". It was used in ancient Rome as a title for the mother goddess, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin Mary.

It is now a term mainly used in academia — as a sobriquet for the university or college a person has attended. This usage is taken from the full name ("Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna") of the oldest European university, the University of Bologna.

In the United States the term is used in two further ways: in reference to a high school or elementary school a person has attended; and as a generic term for a school's anthem or song, examples of which often include the phrase, sometimes as the incipit.

The word matriculation is also derived from the Latin root word mater. The term suggests that the students are fed knowledge and taken care of by the educational institution.