Opsimath

An opsimath can refer to a person who begins, or continues, to study or learn late in life.^[1] The word is derived from the Greek ὀψέ (opse), meaning 'late' and μανθάνω (manthano), meaning 'learn'.^[2]

Opsimathy was once frowned upon, used as a put down with implications of laziness,^[3] and considered less effective by educators than early learning.^[4] The emergence of "opsimath clubs"^[5] has demonstrated that opsimathy has shed much of this negative connotation,^[6] and that this approach may, in fact, be desirable. ^[7]

Notable opsimaths include Sir Henry Rawlinson, the fictitious character Sir Henry Rawlinson, Grandma Moses and Cato the Elder who learned Greek only at the age of 80.

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