Harvard
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: note: rhotic
ipa: /ˈhɑɹvəɹd/
note: non-rhotic
ipa: /ˈhɑːvəd/
ipa: [haːvɪd]
ipa: [haːvəd]
ipa: [(h)äːvəd]
Etymology: A variant of Harward reflecting the merger of /v/ and /w/ in the dialects of southeastern England; thus from Middle English Herward, Herreward, itself from Old English Hereweard and a doublet of Harward and Hereward. Compare German Herwarth.
Senses: glosses: A surname transferred from the given name.
glosses: Any of a number of places named for persons with the surname, including a city in Massachusetts.
examples: text: The Harvard psychologist and bestselling author Steven Pinker appeared on the podcast of Aporia, an outlet whose owners advocate for a revival of race science and have spoken of seeking “legitimation by association” by platforming more mainstream figures.
ref: 2025 June 7, Jason Wilson, “Harvard author Steven Pinker appears on podcast linked to scientific racism”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: A university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, named after John Harvard, American clergyman and philanthropist.
examples: text: I'd finished my second year at Harvard when I boarded the Penn Trader […] Not surprisingly. my name became Harvard. "Hey Harvard, get your ass back to the lazarette and bring me another bucket of red lead!"
ref: 2005, Stephan Wilkinson, The Gold-Plated Porsche: How I Sank a Small Fortune Into a Used Car, and Other Misadventures, page 142:
text: Lu had skipped second grade and found herself at the gifted school by the time she entered fifth grade. That more had earned her the nickname Harvard—another moniker from Lex. […] "Hey, Harvard, how was school today? Did you skip any more grades this week?" he had teased.
ref: 2014, J Santiago, Lex and Lu:
text: He seethed about being the butt of anti-Harvard antics by the golden boy traders. Hey, Harvard, get me coffee."
ref: 2021, Eleanor Randolph, The Many Lives of Michael Bloomberg, page 37:
text: Because any reasonably bright engineering team would eat the Ivy Leaguers alive: "Hey, Harvard, can you walk through this stack trace with me?"
ref: 2023 August 9, Michael Lopp, The Software Developer's Career Handbook, "O'Reilly Media, Inc.", →ISBN, page 252:
glosses: A person who attends, attended, or is likely to attend Harvard; by extension, a person very successful academically.
examples: text: Don't mind her, kiddos. Miss Harvard ain't used to gettin' her hands dirty.
ref: 2010 December 17, Terri Wiltshire, Carry Me Home, Pan Macmillan, →ISBN:
text: I don't have anything to say about "Feast of Blood," because any idiot can understand it, unless they have an Ivy League education and start looking for allegories and metaphors and what have you. Hey Harvard, guess what: there aren't any. It's a story, not a dissertation. Symbolism is for pussies, you read it here first
ref: 2012 October 15, David Shields, Matthew Vollmer, Fakes: An Anthology of Pseudo-Interviews, Faux-Lectures, Quasi-Letters, "Found" Texts, and Other Fraudulent Artifacts, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 333:
text: "What a nerd." he said. "Is that why they call you Harvard?"
ref: 2018 September 23, Gabriella Regina, Love Madness, Babelcube Inc., →ISBN:
glosses: A person who attends, attended, or is likely to attend Harvard; by extension, a person very successful academically.
a person who is nerdy, excessively privileged, pretentious
Derived terms: Harvard architecture
Harvard comma
Harvard format
Harvardian
Harvardiana
Harvard machine