IPA: /prəˈfɛsəriət/
KK: /prəˈfɛsəriət/
A group of teachers or professors at a college or university, or the position and responsibilities of being a professor.
The professoriate plays a crucial role in shaping the academic environment of the university.
Professoriat is derived from "professor" (from Latin "professor", meaning one who professes or declares) and the suffix "-iat" (a variant of "-ate", indicating a group or collective). The term refers to the collective body of professors or educators within an academic institution.
Think of a 'professor' as someone who 'declares' knowledge, and the '-iat' suggests a group, so 'professoriat' means the group of those who declare knowledge.