Sophomore

Sophomore

Sophomore is a term used to describe a second effort, instance, or release. Its most common usage is in the United States as a noun meaning a student in the second year of study (generally referring to high school or university study). The word is also used as an adjective for the second album released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a professional athlete. In the United States, the 10th grade is usually the second year of a student's high school period and is referred to as sophomore year. High school sophomores are expected to begin preparing for the college application process, including reducing and focusing their extracurricular activities. [ [http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/articles/prepare/extracurriculars.asp Sophomore Year: Time to Narrow Down Your Extracurricular Activities] ] Most students reach the age of 16 while sophomores, and so the year is considered a watermark for independence, closely connected with the acquisition of a driver's license in most states. Whereas it was once primarily taken by students in the 11th grade, the PSAT, a college preparatory exam taken across the U.S., is now most commonly taken during a student's sophomore year. Students at this level are also considered to be developing greater ability for abstract thinking. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/06/AR2006020601581.html Sophomore Year: Between Lark and a Hard Place ] ]

In the U.S., colleges generally require students to declare an academic major by the end of their sophomore year. [cite web
url=http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/articles/majors/MajorsBook3.asp
title=Do I Need to Declare a Major on My College Application?
publisher=Princeton Review
accessdate=2007-10-22
] College sophomores are advised to begin thinking about career options and to get involved in volunteering or social organizations on or near campus. [ [http://www.yale.edu/visvi/students/year_guide/sophomore.html Yale UCS - Year by Year Guide - Sophomore Year ] ]

In the United Kingdom, the equivalent term is simply "second-year student".

In American slang, sophomores may be known as "sophisticated morons", a corruption using "soph" and "mor(e)".

The true etymology is from the Old French, "Sophime" or Latin "Sophisme", meaning wisdom, which in turn came from the Greek words "Sophos" ("wise") and "Moros" ("fool"). The English converted it to "sophume", and one who practiced wisdom was a "Sophumer". It wasn't until 1726 that the spelling was established in America as "Sophomore."

References

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msophomore.html
http://www.alphadictionary.com/goodword/word/sophomore

ee also

*Sophomore's dream
*Sophomore slump
*Second system effect


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  • Sophomore — Soph o*more, n. [Probably fr. soph or sophister + Gr. ? foolish. The word was probably introduced into the United States at an early date, from the University of Cambridge, England. Among the cant terms at that university, as given in the Gradus… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sophomore — (vermutlich griechisch in etwa „weiser Narr“) bezeichnet Studenten des zweiten Jahres (also 3. und 4. Semesters) an einem US amerikanischen College Schüler der 10. Jahrgangsstufe in den USA, also der zweiten Klasse an einer High School Sportler… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Sophomore — est un terme anglais américain utilisé pour décrire une deuxième ou une seconde « action ». Son usage est plus commun comme un substantif désignant un étudiant en deuxième année d étude (en général, se référant à l école secondaire ou à …   Wikipédia en Français

  • sophomore — 1680s, student in the second year of university study, lit. arguer, altered from sophumer (1650s, from sophume, archaic variant form of SOPHISM (Cf. sophism)), probably by influence of folk etymology derivation from Gk. sophos wise + moros… …   Etymology dictionary

  • sophomore — ► NOUN N. Amer. ▪ a second year university or high school student. DERIVATIVES sophomoric adjective. ORIGIN probably from sophum, sophom (obsolete variants of SOPHISM(Cf. ↑sophism)) …   English terms dictionary

  • sophomore — [säf′môr΄, säf′ə môr΄] n. [altered (< Gr sophos, wise + mōros, foolish) < older sophumer < sophum, sophism, prob. < ME sophime, SOPHISM] 1. a student in the second year of college or the tenth grade in high school ☆ 2. a person in his …   English World dictionary

  • sophomore — /sof euh mawr , mohr ; sof mawr, mohr/, n. 1. a student in the second year of high school or college. 2. a person or group in the second year of any endeavor: He s a sophomore on Wall Street. adj. 3. of or pertaining to a sophomore. 4. of or… …   Universalium

  • sophomore — 1. adjective /ˈsɒfəmɔː,ˈsɑːfmɔːɻ/ The second in a series, especially, the second of an artist’s albums or the second of four years in a secondary or post secondary school. The band’s sophomore album built upon the success of their debut release,… …   Wiktionary

  • sophomore — noun Sophomore is used before these nouns: ↑season, ↑year Sophomore is used after these nouns: ↑college, ↑high school …   Collocations dictionary

  • sophomore — UK [ˈsɒfəˌmɔː(r)] / US [ˈsɑfəˌmɔr] noun [countable] Word forms sophomore : singular sophomore plural sophomores American a student in the second year of a US college or high school …   English dictionary

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