A professor is a senior teacher at a college or university, usually someone with high academic rank and expertise in a particular subject.
From Latin *professor*, meaning 'person who professes or declares publicly', especially a teacher of a particular subject. It comes from *profitērī* 'to declare openly', the same root that gave us 'profession'.
A professor is literally a 'public declarer'—someone whose job is to openly share and explain knowledge. The title started as a statement of what you stand for, not just where you work.
'Professor' is gender-neutral, but women professors have often been addressed with lesser titles (e.g., 'Miss' or 'Mrs.') while men received 'Professor' by default. Academic culture historically assumed male professors as the norm and questioned women's authority.
Use 'professor' for all people who hold the title, regardless of gender, and avoid assuming a professor is male in examples or generics.
Women professors have been central to building academic disciplines and mentoring generations of scholars, even while facing discrimination in hiring, pay, and promotion.
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