alum
n. countablen. a person who has finished their studies at a specific school, college, or university. It is a shorter way to say 'alumnus' or 'alumna'.
n. a graduate or former student of a specific educational institution. Often used as a gender-neutral alternative to the Latin singular forms 'alumnus' and 'alumna'.
She is a proud alum of the local state university.
The university invited a successful alum to give a speech at the graduation ceremony.
From Middle English alum, alum, alym, alyme, from Anglo-Norman alum, alun, from Latin alūmen.
Clipping of alumnus and alumna (> alumn- > alum), by the removal of the originally Latin gender-specific nominative singular case endings -us (masculine) and -a (feminine).
Commonly used in North American English; serves as a singular form for any gender.
They are alums of the school.They are alumni of the school.While 'alum' is a common singular form, the standard plural remains 'alumni' in formal contexts, though 'alums' is increasingly accepted in casual speech.