FACULTY

faculty, mental faculty, module

(noun) one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind

staff, faculty

(noun) the body of teachers and administrators at a school; “the dean addressed the letter to the entire staff of the university”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

faculty (plural faculties)

(chiefly, US) The academic staff at schools, colleges or universities, as opposed to the students or support staff.

A division of a university.

An ability, skill, or power, often plural.

A power, authority or privilege conferred by a higher authority.

(Church of England) A licence to make alterations to a church.

The members of a profession.

Synonyms

• See also faculty

Usage notes

In the sense of academic staff at a university, academic staff, teaching staff or simply staff are preferred in British English.

Source: Wiktionary

Fac"ul*ty, n.; pl. Faculties. Etym: [F. facult, L. facultas, fr. facilis easy (cf. facul easily), fr. fecere to make. See Fact, and cf. Facility.]

1. Ability to act or perform, whether inborn or cultivated; capacity for any natural function; especially, an original mental power or capacity for any of the well-known classes of mental activity; psychical or soul capacity; capacity for any of the leading kinds of soul activity, as knowledge, feeling, volition; intellectual endowment or gift; power; as, faculties of the mind or the soul. But know that in the soul Are many lesser faculties that serve Reason as chief. Milton. What a piece of work is a man ! how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculty ! Shak.

2. Special mental endowment; characteristic knack. He had a ready faculty, indeed, of escaping from any topic that agitated his too sensitive and nervous temperament. Hawthorne.

3. Power; prerogative or attribute of office. [R.] This Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek. Shak.

4. Privilege or permission, granted by favor or indulgence, to do a particular thing; authority; license; dispensation. The pope . . . granted him a faculty to set him free from his promise. Fuller. It had not only faculty to inspect all bishops' dioceses, but to change what laws and statutes they should think fit to alter among the colleges. Evelyn.

5. A body of a men to whom any specific right or privilege is granted; formerly, the graduates in any of the four departments of a university or college (Philosophy, Law, Medicine, or Theology), to whom was granted the right of teaching (profitendi or docendi) in the department in which they had studied; at present, the members of a profession itself; as, the medical faculty; the legal faculty, ect.

6. (Amer. Colleges)

Definition: The body of person to whom are intrusted the government and instruction of a college or university, or of one of its departments; the president, professors, and tutors in a college. Dean of faculty. See under Dean.

– Faculty of advocates. (Scot.) See under Advocate.

Syn.

– Talent; gift; endowment; dexterity; expertness; cleverness; readiness; ability; knack.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition