doctoral
UK: ˈdɒktərəl | US: ˈdɑːktərəl
adj. relating to or characteristic of a doctorate or a person who holds a doctorate
adj. involving advanced academic study or research
The word "doctoral" combines "doctor," derived from Latin doctor (meaning "teacher" or "scholar"), with the suffix "-al," which forms adjectives indicating relation or pertaining to. Originally, "doctor" referred to a learned authority in any field, but it later specialized to denote the highest academic degree. The suffix "-al" (from Latin -alis) is widely used in English to create descriptive adjectives. Thus, "doctoral" literally means "pertaining to a doctor or doctorate," reflecting its academic connotation.
She completed her doctoral thesis on medieval literature.
The university offers doctoral programs in various scientific disciplines.
His doctoral research contributed significantly to the field of quantum physics.
Attaining a doctoral degree requires years of dedicated study.
The conference was attended by doctoral candidates from around the world.