Word
laureate
Phoneticslau·re·ate
US/ˈɫɔɹiət/
UK/lˈɔːɹiːt/
Definition
n. a person who has won a very important prize or honor for their work. It is most often used for people who win a Nobel Prize or a special poetry award.
n. a person who is honored with an award for outstanding creative or intellectual achievement. Often used in specific titles such as 'Nobel laureate' or 'Poet Laureate'.
Examples
“The Nobel laureate gave a speech about world peace.”
“After winning the prestigious award, the laureate spent the year traveling to universities to share her research with students.”
“The university invited several Nobel laureates to the symposium, hoping their presence would inspire the next generation of researchers to pursue high-impact scientific inquiries.”
Examples
simple
“The Nobel laureate gave a speech about world peace.”
contextual
“After winning the prestigious award, the laureate spent the year traveling to universities to share her research with students.”
complex
“The university invited several Nobel laureates to the symposium, hoping their presence would inspire the next generation of researchers to pursue high-impact scientific inquiries.”
Usage
Often functions as a postpositive modifier in formal titles, such as 'Poet Laureate'.
Real-World Examples
Common in science writing
“When I Give You My Silence was published in Spanish in 2023 its author, the Peruvian Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, rightly predicted that it would be his final novel.” “Eric Rohmer was the poet laureate of French dreamers, the creator of films that feel flyweight and then linger for a lifetime.” Etymology
First attested during the end of the 15th century, in Middle English; borrowed from Latin laureātus, from laurea (“laurel crown, wreath”, a high reward given to poets and later to the triumphant) + -ātus (forming adjectives indicating possession) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from laureus (“of laurel”), from laurus (“laurel”). The verb was formed by metanalysis, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French lauréat.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/laureate