means A person actively engaged in learning, whether formally enrolled in a school or university or simply devoted to studying a subject.

from From Latin 'studens,' the present participle of 'studere,' meaning to be eager, zealous, or to apply oneself — the same root that gives us 'study' and 'studio.' The original sense wasn't passive sitting-in-class but active, almost burning, eagerness: to study was to be on fire for something. It came into English in the Middle Ages, when a 'student' meant anyone keen on knowledge, before universities fully claimed the word as their own.