The word suggests a lack of maturity - which could be potentially offensive - but only if in keeping with the negative connotation toward the concept of immaturity. Now that I understand where it comes from, it resonates a lot with me. I wouldn’t mind if the title of “sophomore” remained. Therefore, employing the “sophist” terminology makes more sense, compared to simply referring to each grade level by its numerical sequence in the scholastic progression. College is meant to be a life stage during which one accumulates more wisdom to compound with previously accumulated knowledge.Īt least, that’s the theoretical objective of college. The history of such familiar words truly brings insight into the intended collective customs of the college experience.
ILLUSTRATION BY BAILEY SHEN/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFFĮventually, once the four-year standard was commonplace throughout colleges, second-year students were referred to as “sophumers,” and the word “sophist” was redacted from the “junior” and “senior” titles. The term “freshmen” referred to students in their first year, while second-year students were titled “junior sophists” and third-year students were dubbed “senior sophists.” The word “sophomore.” The term comes from the Greek words “sophos,” meaning clever or wise, and “moros,” meaning foolish. Interestingly, during the establishment of Cambridge University, which began as a three-year school, students were generally referred to as “sophisters.” That came from the Greek word “sophist,” which referred to the concept of a wise person. These words make even more sense in association with other modern-day words such as “philosopher” or “moron.” Thus, the term “sophomore” comes from the Greek words “sophos,” meaning clever or wise, and “moros,” which means foolish. Contextually, classicism had a high influence on the pursuit of education at these universities, so students frequently conducted their reading and writing in Greek and Latin. The year names for high school and college - freshman, sophomore, junior and senior - originated in the late 1600s as part of the culture at English Universities such as Oxford and Cambridge. In technical terms, what this really means is that for the second time in my life, I am a wise fool. I’ve just started my second year of college, so for the second time in my life, I am a sophomore.