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ac·a·dem·ic (ăk′ə-dĕmĭk)
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adj.
1.
a. Of or relating to institutionalized education and scholarship, especially at a college or university.
b. Of or relating to studies that rely on reading and involve abstract thought rather than being primarily practical or technical.
c. Relating to scholarly performance: a student's academic average.
2. Academic Of or relating to the conservative style of art promoted by an official academy, especially the Académie des Beaux Arts in France in the nineteenth century.
3. Having little practical use or value, as by being overly detailed, unengaging, or theoretical: dismissed the article as a dry, academic exercise.
4. Having no important consequence or relevancy: The debate about who is to blame has become academic because the business has left town.
n.
1. A faculty member or scholar at an institution of higher learning, such as a university.
2. One who has an academic viewpoint or a scholarly background.
ac′a·demi·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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