school

A1 Topic:Education & Learning

US /skul/ UK /skuːl/ See IPA manual

Freq #320

Meanings

1

noun
A place where children go to be taught.

The school was built in 1932.
2

noun
The process or time of being educated at a school.

What will you do when you finish school?
3

noun
A department of a college or university that teaches a particular subject.

She studies at the school of medicine.
4

noun
A group of artists, writers, or thinkers who share a similar style or ideas.

He belongs to the modern school of painting.
5

noun
A large group of fish swimming together.

A school of small glittering fish swam by.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a place where children go... schoolhouse

2 noun · the process or time of... schooling

5 noun · a large group of fish... shoal

Word family

Forms schooledschoolingschools

Derived forms after-schoolb-schoolback-to-schoole-schoolj-schoolnew-schoolnon-schoolnonschoolold-schoolpre-schoolpublic-schoolpushing-school

Related forms education

Appears in

Phrases (18)

See all

high school
a school for teenagers in the American system, typically grades 9–12

Adjective + noun
school bus
a bus that transports children to and from school

Adjective + noun
go to school
to attend school as a student on a regular basis

Verb + noun
primary school
a school for young children, typically ages 4–11

Adjective + noun
private school
a school funded by fees rather than the government

Adjective + noun
school play
a theatrical performance produced and performed by students at a school

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

There's no school like old school

Simplified etymology

School in the educational sense derives from Greek skholē, “leisure, philosophy, place for lectures,” which is also the source of scholar. The unrelated late Middle English word school for a group of fish or sea mammals comes from early German and Dutch schōle, “troop” or “multitude.” This second school shares a root with shoal and is related to shallow.

Etymology

From Middle English scole, from Old English scōl (“place of education”), from Proto-West Germanic *skōlu, from Late Latin schola, scola (“learned discussion or dissertation, lecture, school”), from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “spare time, leisure”), from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- (“to hold, have, possess”). Doublet of schola and shul. Compare Old Frisian skūle, schūle (“school”) (West Frisian skoalle, Saterland Frisian Skoule), Dutch school (“school”), Low German School (“school”), Old High German scuola (“school”), German Schule (“school”), Old Norse skóli (“school”). Influenced in some sen…

*seǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European scole Middle English scōl Old English *skōlu Proto-West Germanic schola la-lat σχολή Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Education & Learning

External links

# school

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /skul/
**IPA (UK):** /skuːl/
**Frequency rank:** 320

## Meanings
1. A place where children go to be taught.
2. The process or time of being educated at a school.
3. A department of a college or university that teaches a particular subject.
4. A group of artists, writers, or thinkers who share a similar style or ideas.
5. A large group of fish swimming together.

## Examples
- The school was built in 1932.
- What will you do when you finish school?
- She studies at the school of medicine.
- He belongs to the modern school of painting.
- A school of small glittering fish swam by.

## Derived Forms
- after-school
- b-school
- back-to-school
- e-school
- j-school
- new-school
- non-school
- nonschool
- old-school
- pre-school
- public-school
- pushing-school

## Related Forms
- education

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *seǵʰ-
- Root: scole
- Root: scōl
- Root: *skōlu
- Root: schola
- Root: σχολή

## Etymology
From Middle English scole, from Old English scōl (“place of education”), from Proto-West Germanic *skōlu, from Late Latin schola, scola (“learned discussion or dissertation, lecture, school”), from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “spare time, leisure”), from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- (“to hold, have, possess”). Doublet of schola and shul. Compare Old Frisian skūle, schūle (“school”) (West Frisian skoalle, Saterland Frisian Skoule), Dutch school (“school”), Low German School (“school”), Old High German scuola (“school”), German Schule (“school”), Old Norse skóli (“school”). Influenced in some sen…

## AI Etymology
School is from Middle English scole, from Old English scōl (“place of education”), from Proto-West Germanic *skōlu, from Late Latin schola, scola (“learned discussion or dissertation, lecture, school”), from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “spare time, leisure”), from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- (“to hold, have, possess”). Doublet of schola and shul. Compare Old Frisian skūle, schūle (“school”) (West Frisian skoalle, Saterland Frisian Skoule), Dutch school (“school”), Low German School (“school”), Old High German scuola (“school”), German Schule (“school”), Old Norse skóli (“school”). Important forms in the word's history include Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ-, Middle English scole, Old English scōl, Proto-West Germanic *skōlu, la-lat schola, Ancient Greek σχολή. In current use it includes senses such as A place where children go to be taught and The process or time of being educated at a school.

## Topics
- Education & Learning

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