GREEK VOCABULARY
Active: a man or woman who has been formally initiated by his/her fraternity or sorority.
Alumnus/Alumnae: an initiated member who has graduated from college or who belongs to the graduate chapter.
Associate/New Member/Pledge: a member of a fraternity or sorority not yet initiated.
Bid: an invitation for membership for a Greek Letter organization.
Brother/Sister: a term used by active members when referring to each other.
Call: the sound or saying by which members of some Greek lettered organizations greet their brothers or sisters or announce their location.
Chapter: the local collegiate or graduate group of a national fraternity or sorority.
Charter: the official document recognizing a chapter's status by the national organization.
Colony: status of a new chapter before installation.
Fraternity: derived from the Latin word "frater" meaning brother, a fraternity is an organization founded on the ideal of brotherhood.
Greek: a term applied to members affiliated with Greek-letter organizations.
Initiation: a formal ceremony in which an associate/new member/pledge becomes an active/initiated member.
Interfraternity Council (IFC): the governing body of the fraternity system at a single University or College campus.
Legacy: a potential member who is the sibling, child, or grandchild of an active member or an alumni member of a Greek organization.
Line: a group of new members in a specific NPHC chapter in a specific semester.
National Panhellenic Conference (NPC): a national organization advocating supporting the rights for 26 (inter) national sororities and women's fraternities.
National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC): the national governing body for the nine historically black sororities and fraternities.
Panhellenic Council (NPC): the governing body of the sorority system at a single University or College Campus.
New Member/Pledge Class: a group of new members in a specific NPC chapter in a specific semester.
North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC): an national organization advocating supporting the rights for 72 (inter) national fraternities.
Potential Member/ Rushee: a non-Greek man or woman seeking to join a social fraternity/sorority.
Recruitment Counselor (Gamma Chi): a member of an NPC sorority that has disaffiliated from his/her organization during Recruitment Week to assist students interested in joining an NPC organization.
Recruitment: designed for NPC membership selection and is a mutual selection process for potential members and chapters.
Rush: designed for IFC membership selection and is a mutual selection process for potential members and chapters.
Sorority: derived from the Latin word "soro" meaning sister, a sorority is another term for a women's fraternity which is founded on the ideal of sisterhood.
