- Halfadem is a blending of half and academ, meaning a non-science/engineering major at Rice Univerity. It was coined to describe students who neither fit in the category of academ or S/E, typically someone who is double-majoring in both areas of disciplines. It may also be appropriate to describe a Architecture or Music student as an halfadem because those majors do not fit strictly into either the academ or S/E categories. Halfadem has less of the negative connotations associated with academs, who are also often referred to as slackadems, because their areas of study seems less vigorous than that of an S/E. An halfadem is not quite as laid-back as an academ, but neither is as hard-core as an S/E, which is the source of the reasoning for the blending with half. The term is most often used by Rice University students.
halfadem
noun; blending
a student who is not quite an academ nor an S/E major; typically someone who is double-majoring in both a Humanities or Social Sciences major and a Science or Engineering major
Etymology : The word halfadem comes from the blending of half and academ. Half comes from Old English half, halb (Mercian), and healf (W. Saxon) meaning 'side, part.' It's meaning has been more specified to mean 'one of two equal parts.'Academ is also a neologism meaning a student who is a Humanities or Social Sciences major. It is a clipping from academics, which comes from Latin academia, 'enclosure where Plato taught his school,' meaning that academs are the students who are majoring in the traditional academic majors, such as English and History. Academ is most commonly used by Rice University students.
Source : He is majoring in Biology and Political Science; he's an halfadem." (friend, September, 2008)
Last modified: 5 December 2008