Faculty

/ˈfæk.əl.ti/

nounmedium📊CommonGroup
2 meanings3 questions

Definitions

2 meanings
1

The teaching staff or experts within a specific department or discipline in a college or university.

/ˈfæk.əl.ti/

nounneutralmedium
Group

A group of teachers or experts in a particular field.

The faculty members at the medical school are dedicated to their students.

💡 Simply: Imagine a school with a bunch of super-smart teachers for one subject. Those teachers are the faculty! They all know a lot about the same thing, like science or art.

👶 For kids: The teachers and grown-ups who work at a school or college.

More Examples

2

The faculty is responsible for the overall academic quality of the program.

3

She was invited to speak at a faculty seminar on sustainable development.

How It's Used

Education

"The faculty at the university is renowned for its research."

Academic

"The history faculty held a meeting to discuss curriculum changes."

2

An inherent mental or physical power or ability.

/ˈfæk.əl.ti/

nounneutralAdvanced
Capability

An inherent mental or physical power.

The old man’s faculties were starting to fail.

💡 Simply: Imagine you have special powers, like remembering things or speaking. Those powers are your faculties! They let you do stuff.

👶 For kids: The things your mind and body can do, like thinking, remembering, or moving.

More Examples

2

Her artistic faculty was evident from a young age.

3

The accident severely damaged his cognitive faculties.

How It's Used

Psychology

"The brain's faculty of memory can be enhanced through training."

Medical

"The injury impaired his faculty of speech."

Tip:Think of your 'faculties' as the 'abilities' you're 'able' to use.

Synonyms & Antonyms

From Middle English `faculte`, from Old French `faculté`, from Latin `facultas` meaning 'ability, power, opportunity'. Related to `facilis` meaning 'easy'.

Historically, 'faculty' was also used to denote a special privilege or right granted by authority. This meaning is less common today.

Memory tip

Think of a school's 'faculty' as a 'family' of knowledgeable instructors.

Word Origin

LanguageLatin
Original meaning

"ability, power"

faculty memberfaculty meetingfaculty of artscognitive facultiesmental faculties

Common misspellings

faculityfacalityfakulty

Usage

40%Spoken
60%Written