Dictionary

faculty en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈfæk.əl.ti/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• (California) audio

Etymology

From Middle English faculte (“power, property”), from Old French faculte, from Latin facultas (“capability, ability, skill, abundance, plenty, stock, goods, property; in Medieval Latin also a body of teachers”), another form of facilitas (“easiness, facility, etc.”), from facul, another form of facilis (“easy, facile”); see facile. Doublet of facility.

Meanings

1. (Canada, Philippines, US) The academic staff at schools, colleges, universities or not-for-profit research institutes, as opposed to the students or support staff.
2. A division of a university.
   • She transferred from the Faculty of Science to the Faculty of Medicine.
3. (qualifier:Often in the plural) An ability, power, or skill.
   • The preſent Argument is the moſt abſtracted that ever I engaged in, it ſtrains my Faculties to their higheſt Stretch; and I deſire the Reader to attend with utmoſt perpenſity; For, I now proceed to unravel this knotty Point. 1704, [Jonathan Swift], “Section IX. A Digression Concerning the Original, the Use and Improvement of Madness in a Commonwealth.”, in A Tale of a Tub. […], London: […] John Nutt, […], →OCLC, pages 169–170:
   • What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
   • It was some time before Johnstone recovered the full use of his faculties; his eyes unclosed but to stare fixedly upon the bank, which, however, was now unoccupied. 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXXIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 273:
   • If I will aske meere Philosophers, what the soule is, I shall finde amongst them, that will tell me, it is nothing, but the temperament and harmony, and just and equall composition of the Elements in the body, which produces all those faculties which we ascribe to the soule […] 1624, John Donne, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVIII., in The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose of John Donne, ed. Charles M. Coffin, New York: Modern Library (1952), pp. 442-444
   • He lived until he reached the age of 90 with most of his faculties intact.
   • I have used the notion of games so far as if it were familiar to most people. I think this is justified as everyone knows how to play some games. Accordingly, games serve admirably as models for the clarification of other, less well-understood, social-psychological phenomena. Yet the ability to follow rules, play games, and construct new games is a faculty not equally shared by all persons. 1974, Thomas S[tephen] Szasz, chapter 12, in The Myth of Mental Illness, →ISBN, page 201:
4. An authority, power, or privilege conferred by a higher authority.
   • Unless he has bi-ritual faculties, the Latin priest must baptize and confirm the Eastern rite person, whether infant or adult, according to the liturgical books of the Latin church ( canon 846 , §2 ). 1994, John M. Huels, The Catechumenate and the Law, page 41:
5. (Church-of-England) A licence to make alterations to a church.
6. The members of a profession.

Forms

Deriveds

nonfaculty · facultize · interfaculty · facultied · subfaculty · staffaculty

Holonyms

reason

Hyponyms

inventiveness · sense · vision · judgment · volition · imagination · intellect · speech · hearing · apprehension · memory · conception · reasoning · intuition

Relateds

facultative · skill

Synonyms

virtue · wherewithal · potential · property · talent · capability · gift · propensity · capacity · ability · endowment · attribute · potentiality · power · faculty

Translations (118)

hi संकाय (division of a university) · pt corpo docente (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · bg уме́ние (ability, skill, or power) · es cuerpo docente (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · sv färdighet (ability, skill, or power) · sl sposobnost (ability, skill, or power) · ru факульте́т (division of a university) · it facoltà (division of a university) · lo ຄະນະ (division of a university) · uk дар (ability, skill, or power) · es facultad (ability, skill, or power) · sh fakùltēt (division of a university) · sk oddelenie (division of a university) · nb fakultet (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · sh nastavničko osoblje (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · hy ֆակուլտետ (division of a university) · ru профессу́ра (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · uk відді́л (division of a university) · pt setor (division of a university) · ky факультет (division of a university) · fi taito (ability, skill, or power) · ca facultat (division of a university) · eo fakulto (ability, skill, or power) · tl kaguro (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · tr yeti (ability, skill, or power) · de Fähigkeit (ability, skill, or power) · eo fakultato (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · ro capacitate (ability, skill, or power) · sh факу̀лте̄т (division of a university) · de Lehrpersonal (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · tg факултет (division of a university) · tr fakülte (division of a university) · ru дар (ability, skill, or power) · ru возмо́жность (ability, skill, or power) · tl kaguruan (division of a university) · mi parapara (ability, skill, or power) · bg спосо́бност (ability, skill, or power) · pl wydział (division of a university) · no evne (ability, skill, or power) · th คณะ (division of a university) · de Fakultät (division of a university) · de Begabung (ability, skill, or power) · be аддзе́л (division of a university) · ca facultat (ability, skill, or power) · xal дацң (division of a university) · fi opetushenkilökunta (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · be факультэ́т (division of a university) · sl zmožnost (ability, skill, or power) · ru спосо́бность (ability, skill, or power) · es profesorado (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · he פָקוּלְטָה (division of a university) · sk fakulta (division of a university) · eo kapablo (ability, skill, or power) · fi tiedekunta (division of a university) · gl facultade (division of a university) · uk професу́ра (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · mi mauri tangata (ability, skill, or power) · fi kyky (ability, skill, or power) · uk профе́сорсько-виклада́цький склад (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · nl faculteit (division of a university) · cmn 系 (division of a university) · pt faculdade (ability, skill, or power) · bg факулте́т (division of a university) · nn fakultet (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · kk факультет (division of a university) · pl fakultet (division of a university) · ka ფაკულტეტი (division of a university) · ro facultate (division of a university) · uk зді́бність (ability, skill, or power) · id fakultas (division of a university) · fr composante (division of a university) · nb fakultet (division of a university) · mk вештина (ability, skill, or power) · ja 学部 (division of a university) · es claustro (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · ko 학부 (division of a university) · pl zdolność (ability, skill, or power) · km មហាវិទ្យាល័យ (division of a university) · sl fakulteta (division of a university) · el σχολή (division of a university) · tg факултет (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · da fakultet (division of a university) · sh sposobnost (ability, skill, or power) · fr faculté (ability, skill, or power) · cs fakulta (division of a university) · gd ceudfath (ability, skill, or power) · kix āchìmhōi (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · sv kollegium (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · mk факулте́т (division of a university) · ko 학과 (division of a university) · fr U.F.R. (division of a university) · sv lärarkollegium (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · sv fakultet (division of a university) · ja 教授会 (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · fi voima (ability, skill, or power) · uk факульте́т (division of a university) · az fakültə (division of a university) · ru отделе́ние (division of a university) · de Kollegium (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · ro putință (ability, skill, or power) · gl facultade (ability, skill, or power) · ru профе́ссорско-преподава́тельский соста́в (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · es facultad (division of a university) · nn fakultet (division of a university) · uz fakultet (division of a university) · de Vermögen (ability, skill, or power) · ro abilitate (ability, skill, or power) · nb evne (ability, skill, or power) · sv förmåga (ability, skill, or power) · fr U.E.R. (division of a university) · ja 技能 (ability, skill, or power) · fr faculté (division of a university) · eo fakultato (division of a university) · mk способност (ability, skill, or power) · pt faculdade (division of a university) · fa دانِشْکَدِه (division of a university) · cs fakulta (scholarly staff at colleges or universities) · ar كُلِّيَّة (division of a university)