First-year students at a high school, college, or university.
From 'fresh' + 'men', dating to the 16th century in English universities. The term originally distinguished new students from those with more experience, with 'fresh' meaning 'new' or 'recent' rather than its modern sense of 'not stale'.
The word freshmen reveals how universities have long thought of new students as needing to be seasoned or ripened through education - like fresh fruit that needs time to mature. Many institutions now use 'first-year students' to be more inclusive, but the original metaphor of educational seasoning remains powerful.
'-man' suffix defaulted to male; 'freshman' perpetuated assumption of male dominance in academia. Generic masculine obscured women's entry into universities.
Use 'first-year student' or 'first-years' to be inclusive and update outdated terminology.
["first-year student","first-years","new student"]
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