• Dean

    Pronunciation

    • enPR: dÄ“n, IPA: /diːn/
    • Rhymes: -iːnHomophones: dene

    Origin

    From Anglo-Norman deen < Old French deien < Latin decānus.

    Full definition of dean

    Noun

    dean

    (plural deans)
    1. A senior official in a college or university, who may be in charge of a division or faculty (for example, the dean of science) or have some other advisory or disciplinary function (for example, the dean of students).
    2. A dignitary or presiding officer in certain church bodies, especially an ecclesiastical dignitary, subordinate to a bishop, in charge of a chapter of canon.
    3. The senior member of some group of people.dean of the diplomatic corps - a country's most senior ambassadordean of the House - the longest-serving member of a legislature
      • 1955, Rex Stout, "The Next Witness", in , October 1994 edition, ISBN 0553249592, page 67:All of the switchboard operators had been parties to it, including Marie Willis. Their dean, Alice Hart, collected...
    4. (Sussex) a hill (chiefly place names).

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