Everything about Oxbridge totally explained
Oxbridge was originally a fictional composite of the universities of
Oxford and
Cambridge and the term is now used to refer them collectively, often with implications of their superior intellectual and social status..
Meaning
The term 'Oxbridge' has arisen partly from the many characteristics that the two universities share. The University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge are the two
oldest universities in
England. Both were founded more than 750 years ago, and between them have produced a large number of Britain's most prominent
scientists,
writers, and
politicians, as well as noted figures in many other fields. Moreover they both share a similar
collegiate system, whereby the University is a 'cooperative' of its constituent colleges. The competition between Oxford and Cambridge also has a long history, dating back to the days when Cambridge was founded by dissident scholars from Oxford.
The word
Oxbridge may also be used as a descriptor of
social class; for example the upper social classes who have in the past dominated the intake of these two universities.
Origins
Although both universities were founded more than seven centuries ago, the term 'Oxbridge' is relatively young. In
William Thackeray's
bildungsroman,
Pendennis, published in 1849, the main character attends (the fictional)
Boniface College, Oxbridge. According to the
Oxford English Dictionary, this is the first recorded instance of the word, but it didn't enter common usage until the middle of the
20th century. The book also introduces the term
Camford as another combination of the university names; "he was a Camford man and very nearly got the English Prize Poem"; although this term has never achieved the same degree of usage as Oxbridge.
Virginia Woolf used the term Oxbridge critically in her essay
A Room of One's Own.
Social critics in the United Kingdom, such as Carole Cadwalladr, also sometimes use "Oxbridge" or "Oxbridge Club" as shorthand for the "
old boy network".
Related terms
Other portmanteau words are occasionally derived from the term "Oxbridge", such as "Doxbridge" an annual inter-collegiate sports tournament between the colleges of
Durham, Oxford, and Cambridge. The term "Loxbridge" (referring to
London, Oxford, and Cambridge) is sometimes used, and was also used as the name of a history conference now referred to as AMPAH. However, such terms are only used for specific groups, and none has achieved widespread use. In the
United States, the
Ivy League forms an analogous group of colleges with a reputation for selectivity and academic excellence, but the relationship is more formally organized.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Oxbridge'.
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