professor
//pɹəˈfɛs.ə//
Forms
- Plural
- professors
Definitions
1.The most senior rank for an academic at a university or similar institution.
- Professor is what you become after teaching for twenty to thirty years.
2.A teacher or faculty member at a college or university regardless of formal rank.(informal)
3.A pianist in a saloon, brothel, etc.(slang)
- You could hear […] pianos under the hands of whorehouse professors sounding like they came with keys between the keys.
4.The puppeteer who performs a Punch and Judy show; a Punchman.
Frequency
Overall
Common· #936
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Uncommon
- General reading & writing
- Common
- Academic
- Uncommon
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
From Middle English professor, professour, from Anglo-Norman proffessur and its etymon Latin professor (“declarer, person who claims knowledge”), from the past participle stem of profiteor (“profess”).
By surface analysis, profess + -or.