erudite
nounEtymology From Latin ērudītus, participle of ērudiō (“educate, train”), from e- (“out of”) + rudis (“rude, unskilled”). Doublet of erudit.
1
a learned or scholarly person
erudite
adjUK /ˈɛɹ.ʊ.daɪt/ · US /ˈɛɹ.(j)u.daɪt/
Etymology From Latin ērudītus, participle of ērudiō (“educate, train”), from e- (“out of”) + rudis (“rude, unskilled”). Doublet of erudit.
1
Learned, scholarly, with emphasis on knowledge gained from books.
- The professor gave an erudite lecture that impressed everyone in the audience.
- His erudite knowledge of ancient history made him a sought-after speaker.
4 more examples
- She was praised for her erudite contributions to the academic journal.
- At all events, if it involved any secret information in regard to old Roger Chillingworth, it was in a tongue unknown to the erudite clergyman, and did but increase the bewilderment of his mind.1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, chapter XII, in The Scarlet Letter:
- Elmer Moffatt had been magnificent, rolling out his alternating effects of humour and pathos, stirring his audience by moving references to the Blue and the Gray, convulsing them by a new version of Washington and the Cherry Tree […], dazzling them by his erudite allusions and apt quotations.1913, Edith Wharton, “Chapter 43”, in The Custom of the Country:
- THE CONCISE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF WORLD RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVES. Edited by P. Ransome-Wallis. Hutchinson. 50s. [...] The most erudite locomotive engineer could not fail to excavate new knowledge from this remarkably comprehensive volume, [...]1960 January, “New reading on railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 26:
- Derived terms
- eruditely, eruditeness, inerudite, nonerudite, omnierudite, unerudite