aspirants
|a-spir-ants|
🇺🇸
/əˈspaɪrənt/
🇬🇧
/əˈspaɪərənt/
(aspirant)
ambitious seeker
Etymology
'aspirant' originates from Latin, specifically the verb 'aspirare', where the prefix 'ad-' meant 'toward' and 'spirare' meant 'to breathe'.
'aspirant' changed from the Latin present-participial form 'aspirans' (from 'aspirare') into Late Latin and then entered English (via Middle French/Late Latin influence) as 'aspirant'.
Initially related to 'breathing toward' or 'desiring' (literal and figurative senses of 'aspirare'), it evolved into the specific sense of 'one who aspires to a position or status' used in modern English.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
plural form of 'aspirant': people who have ambitions to achieve something, especially those seeking a particular position, office, honor, or status.
Several aspirants applied for the scholarship.
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Noun 2
plural form referring specifically to people seeking admission, ordination, or initiation into a religious order or similar institution (e.g., prospective novices).
The monastery welcomed several aspirants who wished to train as novices.
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Last updated: 2025/10/31 18:36