PUPIL


Meaning of PUPIL in English

/ ˈpjuːpl; NAmE / noun

1.

( especially BrE , becoming old-fashioned ) a person who is being taught, especially a child in a school :

How many pupils does the school have?

She now teaches only private pupils.

➡ note at student

2.

a person who is taught artistic, musical, etc. skills by an expert :

The painting is by a pupil of Rembrandt.

3.

the small round black area at the centre of the eye :

Her pupils were dilated.

—picture at eye

—compare iris

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WORD ORIGIN

senses 1 to 2 late Middle English (in the sense orphan, ward ): from Old French pupille , from Latin pupillus (diminutive of pupus boy) and pupilla (diminutive of pupa girl).

sense 3 late Middle English : from Old French pupille or Latin pupilla , diminutive of pupa doll (so named from the tiny reflected images visible in the eye).

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.