Nearby Words
noun
1.
Education.
a.
the head of a faculty, school, or administrative division in a university or college: the dean of admissions.
b.
an official in an American college or secondary school having charge of student personnel services, such as counseling or discipline: the dean of men.
c.
the official in charge of undergraduate students at an English university.
2.
Ecclesiastical.
a.
the head of the chapter of a cathedral or a collegiate church.
b.
Also called vicar forane. a priest in the Roman Catholic Church appointed by a bishop to take care of the affairs of a division of a diocese.
3.
the senior member, in length of service, of any group, organization, profession, etc.: the dean of lexicographers.
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English deen < Anglo-French deen, dean, Old French deien < Late Latin decānus chief of ten, equivalent to Latin dec(em) ten + -ānus -an
1300–50; Middle English deen < Anglo-French deen, dean, Old French deien < Late Latin decānus chief of ten, equivalent to Latin dec(em) ten + -ānus -an
Related forms
dean·ship, noun
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Dean
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
1.
James (Byron), 1931–55, U.S. actor.
2.
Jay Hanna (“Dizzy”), 1911–74, U.S. baseball pitcher.
3.
a male given name: from the Old English family name meaning “valley.”
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To Dean
Collins
World English Dictionary
| dean (diːn) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | the chief administrative official of a college or university faculty |
| 2. | (at Oxford and Cambridge universities) a college fellow with responsibility for undergraduate discipline |
| 3. | chiefly Church of England the head of a chapter of canons and administrator of a cathedral or collegiate church |
| 4. | RC Church See also rural dean the cardinal bishop senior by consecration and head of the college of cardinalsRelated: decanal |
| Related: decanal | |
| [C14: from Old French deien, from Late Latin decānus one set over ten persons, from Latin decem ten] | |
| 'deanship | |
| —n | |
| Dean2 (diːn) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | Christopher. See Torvill and Dean |
| 2. | James (Byron). 1931--55, US film actor, who became a cult figure; his films include East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause (both 1955). He died in a car crash |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
dean
early 14c., from O.Fr. deien, from L.L. decanus "head of a group of 10 monks in a monastery," from earlier secular meaning "commander of 10 soldiers" (which was extended to civil administrators in the late empire), from Gk. dekanos, from deka "ten." Replaced O.E. teoðingealdor. College sense is from
EXPAND1570s (in L. from 1271).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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