Cambridge ‘jargon’ can be indecipherable to an outsider. For a comprehensive guide visit the Queens’ College website: www.queens.cam.ac.uk
‘Arch and Anth’ - Archaeology and Anthropology
BA Bachelor of Arts; - normal undergraduate degree awarded at Cambridge, regardless of subject
(The) Backs - The much-photographed area between Queens’ Road and the rear of the colleges backing onto the River Cam, from Queens’ round to St John’s
Bedder - Member of college staff (now always female) who cleans students’ rooms and makes their beds (see Gyp)
Bedell - University heralds, originally employed as guardians of ceremonial and as messengers. Two Esquire Bedells retain their ceremonial function, carrying maces as their insignia of office
Blue - Light blue blazer and scarf awarded for playing in an official match against Oxford; a person who has been given such an award
Boat Race - Annual contest against Oxford, rowed on the Thames between Putney and Mortlake, a distance of 4.25 miles (6.8 km)
Bull - A written mandate from the Pope
Bulldog - University constable, usually recruited from college porters, to assist proctors in enforcing discipline
Bumps - Races between college crews to decide which becomes ‘head of the River’; rowed in the spring and summer terms
Cantab - Abbreviated form of Latin Cantabrigium, denoting ‘of Cambridge’, indicated after a degree, as in BA Cantab
Chair - Professorial post; most are permanent but some may be created for a specific person
Chancellor - Official head of the university, now largely a ceremonial post. Elected by the Senate, the Chancellor holds office until death or resignation. HRH the Duke of Edinburgh was Chancellor 1977–2011
College - An endowed, self-governing community of scholars; the establishment occupied by such a community, consisting of residential accommodation, library, chapel, dining-hall and gardens
College Nicknames - Catz (St Catharine’s), Corpus (Corpus Christi), Emma (Emmanuel) Fitz (Fitwilliam – but The Fitz denotes the Fitzwilliam Museum), Tit Hall (Trinity Hall)
Combination Room - Cambridge term for a Common Room
Congregation - A meeting room of the Regent House
Council (of the Senate) - Since 1856 an executive body, elected by the Regent House, which links the university and colleges for the purposes of strategic planning and finance
Court - Inner courtyard of a college, known as a quad in Oxford
CUSU - Cambridge University Student Union
Dean - Traditionally a priest responsible for the chapel and religious life of the college
Don - A university teacher or researcher, from the Latin dominus, meaning master
Fellow - Tenured member of a college, with privileges of dining and residence, usually matched with responsibilities for teaching and administration, unless the status is otherwise qualified (e.g. Research, Visiting, Honorary or Emeritus Fellow)
Fellow-Commoner - Pre-modern wealthy student, privileged to dine with Fellows at High Table
FBA - Fellow of the British Academy
FRS - Fellow of the Royal Society
FSA - Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
Finals - Final examinations leading to the award of a degree
First - Top class honours degree; truly exceptional candidates may be awarded a ‘starred’ first; followed by Upper Second/Two One (2.1), Lower Second/Two Two (2.2) (a.k.a. a ‘Desmond’, as in Archbishop Desmond Tutu) and Third (3rd).
Fresher - Freshman, first year undergraduate
Going up - To come to study in Cambridge; leaving is ‘going down’
Grace - Proposal put to the vote in the Regent House
Grads - Graduates; the University Centre was initially tagged the ‘Grad Pad’
Gyp - Male ‘bedder’, replacing sizars from the 18th century onwards, now abolished
Gyp room - Small kitchen for student use, equipped for preparation of snacks
Hall - Dining hall; formal dining involves waited service and the wearing of gowns
High Table - Dining table reserved for Fellows and their guests; in older colleges this is often on a raised dais and at right angles to other tables
Hostels - Halls of residence, varying in size, permanence and wealth, which preceded incorporated and endowed colleges; from the 19th century institutions aspiring to college status might gain transitional recognition as a ‘hostel’ or ‘house’
Jacobite - Supporter of the successors of the ousted (1688) James II (James translates to Jacobus in Latin), a convert to Roman Catholicism, resistant to their replacement in 1714 by the Protestant Hanoverian dynasty of George I and his successors; Jacobitism lingered semi-secretly at Oxford until the later 18th century
JCR - Junior Combination Room, the undergraduate common room and its elected representatives and officers
King Street Run - Traditional ‘pub crawl’ requiring participants to drink a pint of beer in each of the street’s pubs
Land economy - Study of estate and environmental management and planning
Long vac - Long vacation, i.e. summer break
MA - Holders of the BA degree after two years can style themselves MA (Master of Arts) on payment of a modest fee
Master - Usual title for the head of a Cambridge college
Matriculation - Registration at the beginning of the academic year in October, from the Latin matricula, a little roll or list; originally this also applied to college and university servants and required an oath of allegiance to the Crown and assent to the established form of religion
May Week - Post-examination celebratory period of boat races and balls held in June
Mechanical Sciences Tripos - Name used between 1894–1970 for engineering
Moral Sciences Tripos - Name used between 1851–1969 for philosophy
Old Schools - Complex of buildings opposite Great St Mary’s, originating as medieval lecture rooms and libraries, now occupied by the central administration
OM - Order of Merit, prestigious honour for distinguished achievement, founded by Edward VII; membership is limited to 24 at any one time
Pensioner - Student paying college fees for teaching and board and lodging
Porter - College security officer, charged with care of keys, post and rebuking unruliness, not carrying baggage
Proctor - University official originally elected to enforce discipline
Professor - Occupant of a chair in a specific subject or head of a faculty
Reader - A senior but sub-professorial Lecturer
Regius Professor - Occupant of a prestigious chair endowed and usually appointed by the Crown; established in Cambridge in 1540, in Oxford in 1546
Reading - Studying
Regent House - Electorate (e.g. for the Council) and consultative body comprising all university teaching and administrative staff (c.3,000)
Residence - Students are required to live inside the university’s boundaries, i.e. within a three mile radius of Great St Mary’s
Rusticated - Temporarily excluded for a specific period, from the Latin for living in the countryside
SCR - Senior Combination Room
Senate - Body of all existing MAs with electoral and legislative functions now almost non-existent
Senate House - Historic building opposite Great St Mary’s used for meetings of the Regent House, elections of university officers, conferment of degrees and other official ceremonies
Sent down - Expelled
Sizar - Impoverished student who worked his way through college
Square - Square cap; academic headgear otherwise known as a ‘mortar board’; not worn at graduation at Cambridge
Subfusc - Formal dress for degree award ceremonies, from the Latin for dark
Supervision - Weekly teaching session of one hour plus between a student and his/her supervisor, responsible for teaching the material leading to a particular subject examination
Syndicate - Committee appointed to supervise a university function (e.g. Library) or to consider and propose action on a specific issue
Terms - The autumn term (October to December) is Michaelmas (after St Michael’s Day, 29th September), the spring term (January to mid-March) is Lent and the summer (April to mid-June) is Easter; each lasts eight weeks
Tomkins - Table Academic league table since 1980 ranking colleges by degrees awarded
Town and Gown - Rivalry between members of the university and local residents; in the past a serious matter involving entrenched legal privileges of the university; subsequently unspoken understanding of mutual avoidance regarding specific pubs etc.
Tripos - Degree course and associated examinations, named after a three-legged stool examiners once sat on for oral examinations
Undergraduate - A student who has matriculated but not yet passed the BA degree
UL - University Library
Union - Debating society, not to be confused with the Student Union (see CUSU)
Vice-Chancellor - Administrative head of the university; formerly elected annually, usually for two successive years; the post usually rotated amongst Heads of Houses, but is now a permanent appointment for a fixed term of seven years
Wrangler - Student passing the final examinations of the Mathematical Tripos with First Class honours. The student with the highest individual marks was nominated Senior Wrangler, the next Second Wrangler and so on. The person with the lowest marks was traditionally awarded a wooden spoon. These rankings were public until 1909 but not since. Famous Wranglers have included Lord Rayleigh Senior Clerk-Maxwell and J J Thomson (2nd), Bertrand Russell (9th) and J M Keynes (12th)