One who takes to (or continues) learning late in life. An old dog who thinks he can learn new tricks.

The English usage dates from after the introduction of opsimathy, "learning acquired late in life," from the Greek opsimathein, 'late learning', in the 17th Century.

The sense is often derogatory, implying the learning should have been done earlier. A modern example from the web:

This progress has sometimes exposed him as an opsimath, discovering important theological texts only late in his career.

There are signs, though, of an emerging positive sense, as shown by the existence of several 'Opsimath clubs' around the place, where older folks enjoy learning stuff.

Great idea though it is, at a mere 118 Google hits you'd have to say this word is pretty marginal.


info from http://www.funwords.com/library/o.htm, quote from http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9603/articles/revessay.html

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