Oxford A–Z
A glossary of Oxford terms
Oxford runs on words nobody explains. A colleague is busy with collections in noughth week, your guest room in college comes with a scout and a bill called battels, and directions send you off the High towards the Rad Cam. The University explains them to students and applicants; this glossary explains them to the adult who has moved here for work, in plain English, one term per page, each with its sources.
How to use this glossary
The opening paragraph of each term answers the question on its own. "In practice" gives the detail, and the last section says why the word matters to a newcomer. Each page names its source so that dates and rules can be rechecked.
University and colleges
- Battels - The termly bill an Oxford college sends for rooms, meals and charges.
- Collections - College exams at the start of term that do not count towards the degree.
- Finals - The examinations at the end of a degree, sat at the Examination Schools.
- Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity - The three Oxford terms, with eight numbered weeks of full term each.
- Quad - An enclosed college courtyard, usually with a lawn you may not walk on.
- Scout - College staff who look after students' rooms and staircases.
- Subfusc - The dark formal clothing worn under the gown for exams and ceremonies.
- Tutorial - Teaching in groups of one to three students with a tutor.
Ceremonies and buildings
- Encaenia - The annual honorary degree ceremony in the Sheldonian.
- Rad Cam - The Radcliffe Camera, the domed reading room in Radcliffe Square.
- Sheldonian Theatre - Wren's ceremonial hall on Broad Street.
- The Bodleian - The University's main research library, known as the Bod.
Traditions
- Gaudy - A college reunion dinner for former students.
- May Morning - Dawn singing from Magdalen Tower on 1 May.
- Summer Eights - The intercollegiate bumps races of Trinity term.
City and river
- The High - Oxford's High Street, and the city's habit of street nicknames.
- The Isis - The River Thames as it flows through Oxford.
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