syllabus
syllabus Lexical Profile
syllabus Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An outline or summary of the subjects, readings, assignments, and policies to be covered in an academic course of study or training.
"The professor distributed the course syllabus on the first day of the semester so students could review the grading criteria and reading schedule."
American A brief summary or headnote preceding a published court opinion that states the main legal points decided in the case.
"Before reading the full judicial opinion, the law clerk reviewed the syllabus to grasp the court's primary holding."
Word Nuance & Usage
Both 'syllabuses' and 'syllabi' are accepted plural forms in modern English, though 'syllabuses' is technically more accurate etymologically because the word entered Latin through a misreading of a Greek plural accusation rather than being a native second-declension Latin noun.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-17th century from Modern Latin syllabus, which originated as a 15th-century printer's misreading of Cicero's Greek-derived word sittybas (acc. plural of sittyba, meaning 'parchment title slip or label').