bachelier

Of uncertain origin, might come from Medieval Latin baccalāureus which became Old French bacheler and then bachelier, with the original meaning of "crowned with berried laurels", in reference to the fact that graduate students were crowned with those in the Middle Ages. Might also be of Celtic origin and cognate with Old Irish bachlach (“servant”), in Catalonia, baccalarii were members of an intermediate class between knights and peasants, in Provence, the sense was "[free] peasant without a tenure". Might also come from Old French bas chevalier ("low knight").

• IPA^(key): /ba.ʃə.lje/

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bachelier m (plural bacheliers, feminine bachelière)

1. graduate of the baccalauréat

   Agrégé de philosophie, rebuté par la monotonie d'une carrière qui consiste à préparer chaque année un certain contingent de futurs bacheliers, Claude Lévi-Strauss s'orienta rapidement vers la recherche ethnographique.

2. (Canada) person holding a bachelor's degree

• “bachelier” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).