academic: adj. & n. --adj. 1 a scholarly; to do with learning. b of or relating to a scholarly institution (academic dress). 2 abstract; theoretical; not of practical relevance. 3 Art conventional, over-formal. 4 a of or concerning Plato's philosophy. b sceptical. --n. a teacher or scholar in a university or institute of higher education. øacademic year a period of nearly a year reckoned from the time of the main student intake, usu. from the beginning of the autumn term to the end of the summer term. øøacademically adv. [F acad÷mique or L academicus (as ACADEMY)]
