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First association which we have with the word “bachelor” is a single man who still hasn’t got married. But then the next question appears: how this meaning is connected with degree received at the college or university? To know this we should have to trace the origin and etymology of this word.

As history says first universities appeared in 7th century in India, but the term bachelor appeared only in the medieval period. At that times education lasted 3 or 4 years and was based on the trivium (grammar, rhetoric and logic) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy). When the education was finished, student received a degree in the Bachelor of Arts. At that time it was a Latin word “baccalaureus” which meant “young squire or knight”.

But with deep look in the etymology word “bachelor” we can see the connection with Latin word “baccalaria” – “a division of land”. Adjectives “baccalarius” and “baccalaria” mean man and woman who work on land.

In 13th century word “bachelor” was widely used in Latin and English with meaning “a young knight or squire”, but it has French spelling “bachelor”. In 14th century it began to mean “junior member of a guild or knight”. At the same time the same word but with a little difference in spelling “bachiler” was used to call “an apprentice student” or student at the first level of his education. And with time it was seen that such young man who was busy with education, didn’t have time to get married. Here id the connection.

In order to understand all peculiarities it is also necessary to study equivalent to the bachelor’s degree: baccalaureate. It came from the Latin word “baccalaureus” – “student with the first degree”. But word “baccalaureus” also is a Latin phrase “bacca lauri” – “”laurel berries”. Laurel berries were a prize for the winner in Pythian Games, carried out in Greece. So, within that context it meant great honor and academic achievement.
Its modern meaning and spelling this word got in 18th century.