dean

C2+ Topic:Education & Learning

US /din/ UK /diːn/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a senior official of a college, university, or cathedral

The dean addressed the incoming class at the autumn assembly.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a senior official of a... provost head chancellor principal doyen senior

Word family

Derived forms deanerydeanship

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman deen, Old French deien, from Late Latin decānus ('chief of ten', originally a leader of ten monks or soldiers), from Latin decem ('ten'), from PIE *déḱm̥.

deien Old French decānus Latin decem Latin *déḱm̥ Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Education & Learning

# dean

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** din
**IPA (UK):** diːn

## Meanings
1. a senior official of a college, university, or cathedral

## Examples
- The dean addressed the incoming class at the autumn assembly.

## Synonyms
- provost
- head
- chancellor
- principal
- doyen
- senior

## Derived Forms
- deanery
- deanship

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: deien
- Root: decānus
- Root: decem
- Root: *déḱm̥

## Etymology
From Anglo-Norman deen, Old French deien, from Late Latin decānus ('chief of ten', originally a leader of ten monks or soldiers), from Latin decem ('ten'), from PIE *déḱm̥.

## AI Etymology
Dean comes from Anglo-Norman deen, Old French deien, from Late Latin decānus ('chief of ten', originally a leader of ten monks or soldiers), from Latin decem ('ten'), from PIE *déḱm̥. The etymological trail includes Old French deien, Latin decānus, Latin decem, and Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥. As a noun, dean names a senior official of a college, university, or cathedral. The same family is visible in derived forms such as deanery and deanship.

## Topics
- Education & Learning

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dean

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