Etymology First attested during the end of the 15th century, in Middle English; borrowed from Latin laureātus, from laurea (“laurel crown, wreath”, a high reward given to poets and later to the triumphant) + -ātus (forming adjectives indicating possession) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from laureus (“of laurel”), from laurus (“laurel”). The verb was formed by metanalysis, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French lauréat.
1
Postpositional, Sometimes Crowned, or decked, with laurel.
To strew the laureate hearse where Lycid lies.1637 (date written; published 1638), John Milton, “Lycidas”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC:
Soft on her lap her laureate son reclines.1728, [Alexander Pope], “(please specify the page)”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin; London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC:
1 more example
Although the post of poet laureate as we know it was not established until John Dryden's appointment in 1668,2007, Robert J. Meyer-Lee, Poets and Power from Chaucer to Wyatt:
laureate
noun
Etymology First attested during the end of the 15th century, in Middle English; borrowed from Latin laureātus, from laurea (“laurel crown, wreath”, a high reward given to poets and later to the triumphant) + -ātus (forming adjectives indicating possession) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from laureus (“of laurel”), from laurus (“laurel”). The verb was formed by metanalysis, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French lauréat.
1
Dated One crowned with laurel, such as a poet laureate or Nobel laureate.
a learn'd laureatea. 1658, John Cleveland, An Elegy to Ben Johnson:
Maria Ressa, the chief executive and cofounder of Rappler, and Dmitry Muratov, the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, were named as this year’s laureates by Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee.2021 October 8, Jon Henley and Rebecca Ratcliffe, “Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov win Nobel peace prize”, in The Guardian:
Etymology First attested during the end of the 15th century, in Middle English; borrowed from Latin laureātus, from laurea (“laurel crown, wreath”, a high reward given to poets and later to the triumphant) + -ātus (forming adjectives indicating possession) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from laureus (“of laurel”), from laurus (“laurel”). The verb was formed by metanalysis, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French lauréat.
1
To honor with a wreath of laurel, as formerly was done in bestowing a degree at English universities.