sophomore

B1 Topic:Education & Learning

US /ˈsɑf.mɔɹ/ UK /ˈsɒf.ə.mɔː/ See IPA manual

Freq #13580

Meanings

1

noun
A second-year student at a US high school or university.

She was very mature for a sophomore and had several friends who were juniors or seniors.
2

adj
Being the second in a series, especially an artist's second album.

The band's sophomore album built on the success of their debut.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a second-year student at a... soph

2 adj · being the second in a... second-year

Word family

Forms sophomores

Derived forms froshpresophomoresophomoreitissophomoricsophomoritis

Related forms moronmorosophoxymoronsophy

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

sophomore class
the group of students in their second year of a four-year school or college

Noun + noun

Etymology

From earlier sophumer, from the obsolete sophom, sophum (“sophism or dialectical exercise”), from Ancient Greek σόφισμα (sóphisma). Likely influenced by Ancient Greek σοφός (sophós, “wise”) + μωρός (mōrós, “fool”). Compare oxymoron (literally “sharp-dull”), a similar contradiction.

σόφισμα Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Education & Learning

External links

# sophomore

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈsɑf.mɔɹ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsɒf.ə.mɔː/
**Frequency rank:** 13580

## Meanings
1. A second-year student at a US high school or university.
2. Being the second in a series, especially an artist's second album.

## Examples
- She was very mature for a sophomore and had several friends who were juniors or seniors.
- The band's sophomore album built on the success of their debut.

## Derived Forms
- frosh
- presophomore
- sophomoreitis
- sophomoric
- sophomoritis

## Related Forms
- moron
- morosoph
- oxymoron
- sophy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: σόφισμα

## Etymology
From earlier sophumer, from the obsolete sophom, sophum (“sophism or dialectical exercise”), from Ancient Greek σόφισμα (sóphisma). Likely influenced by Ancient Greek σοφός (sophós, “wise”) + μωρός (mōrós, “fool”). Compare oxymoron (literally “sharp-dull”), a similar contradiction.

## AI Etymology
Sophomore is from earlier sophumer, from the obsolete sophom, sophum (“sophism or dialectical exercise”), from Ancient Greek σόφισμα (sóphisma). Likely influenced by Ancient Greek σοφός (sophós, “wise”) + μωρός (mōrós, “fool”). Compare oxymoron (literally “sharp-dull”), a similar contradiction. Important forms in the word's history include Ancient Greek σόφισμα. In current use it includes senses such as A second-year student at a US high school or university and Being the second in a series, especially an artist's second album.

## Topics
- Education & Learning

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