1. The school, college, or university that one has attended.
2. The anthem of an institution of higher learning.

[From Latin Alma Māter, nourishing mother (epithet of certain goddesses) : alma, feminine of almus, nourishing + māter, mother; see maternal.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.