Editing Academy (section)

== Etymology ==
[[File:MANNapoli 124545 plato's academy mosaic.jpg|thumb|[[Plato's Academy mosaic]] from [[Pompeii]]]]

The word comes from the ''Academy'' in [[ancient Greece]], which derives from the [[Athenian]] [[hero]], ''[[Akademos]]''. Outside the city walls of [[Athens]], the [[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasium]] was made famous by [[Plato]] as a center of learning. The sacred space, dedicated to the goddess of wisdom, [[Athena]], had formerly been an [[olive]] [[Grove (nature)|grove]], hence the expression "the groves of Academe".<ref>{{cite OED|academe}}</ref>

In these gardens, the philosopher [[Plato]] conversed with followers. Plato developed his sessions into a method of teaching philosophy and in 387&nbsp;BC, established what is known today as the [[Old Academy]].

By extension, ''academia'' has come to mean the accumulation, development and transmission of [[knowledge]] across generations as well as its practitioners and transmitters. In the 17th century, British, Italian and French scholars used the term to describe types of institutions of higher learning.