Kommilitonen

Kommilitonen is a German noun meaning fellow students, typically those who study together at a university or college. It refers to people who share the same academic environment, such as a class, department, or degree cohort. The masculine singular form is Kommilitone, the feminine singular is Kommilitonin. The standard plural forms are Kommilitonen (masculine or mixed groups) and Kommilitoninnen (feminine).

Etymology and usage context: The term derives from Latin commilitones, meaning fellow soldiers, entered German through historical academic usage. In modern German, Kommilitone and Kommilitonin emphasize social and scholarly kinship within higher education, rather than administrative or formal roles.

Usage notes: Kommilitone, Kommilitonin, and their plurals are common in everyday speech and in semi-formal writing among students, for example when referring to peers in a study group or class. A related neutral term is Mitstudent, which can be used more broadly to denote a fellow student without gender specification. The word Kommilitone carries a collegial, informal tone and is often used in personal communication; in very formal contexts, alternatives such as Studienkollege or Mitstudent may be preferred.

See also: In German, terms related to student peers include Mitstudent and Studienkollege, while Kamerad can imply a different kind of camaraderie and is less specific to university life. Kommilitone remains a standard, gendered way to describe a peer within the academic community.