Glossary of Greek Terms
Active - a fully initiated member in a fraternity or sorority.
Associate - a non-initiated member in a fraternity or sorority that employs the associate member program.
Bid - an invitation to join a fraternity or sorority.
Brother - a term used by fraternity members when referring to each other.
Chapter - refers to an individual fraternity or sorority.
Fraternity - a Greek organization for men.
Function - a social gathering for two or more fraternities or sororities.
Greek - a member of a fraternity or sorority.
Initiation - the traditional ritual that brings a new member to full membership.
Inter-national - a term referring to the central office of a given fraternity or sorority.
Interfraternity Council (IFC) - the coordinating body of fraternities.
Legacy - a rushee of a fraternity/sorority who is a son/daughter, brother/sister, or grandson/granddaughter of a member of a Greek organization.
North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) - a conference composed of 62 member fraternities.
National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) - a conference composed of 26 member women's fraternities.
National Pan-Hellenic Conference (NPHC) - a conference of nine historically Black member men's and women's fraternities and the coordinating body of the historically Black Greek-letter organizations at GC.
College Panhellenic Council (CPC) - the coordinating body of sororities.
Potential New Member - a person interested in being a member of a chapter.
REC - a written recommendation for a rushee from an alumna(e) of a sorority.
Ritual - the values and beliefs by which members of an organization live; usually depicted in traditional organizational ceremonies.
Recruitment - the activity by which chapters seek new members.
Sister - a term used by sorority members when referring to each other.
Sorority - a Greek organization for women.
