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Docent

[doh-suhnt; Ger. doh-tsent]

noun

a college or university lecturer.

a person who is a knowledgeable guide, especially one who conducts visitors through a museum and delivers a commentary on the exhibitions.

Origin:
1630–40; < German Dozent < Latin docent- (stem of docēns, present participle of docēre), equivalent to doc- teach + -ent -ent

Related forms

do·cent·ship, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Docent is always a great word to know.

So is doohickey. Does it mean:

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

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Example Sentences

Ask the docent which gallery the tour will focus on.

We provide docent led tours to thousands of school children each year.

If you're less so, you can be a docent or a greeter.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

docent (ˈdəʊs^ənt)

—n
1.	a voluntary worker who acts as a guide in a museum, art gallery, etc
2.	(in the US) a lecturer in some colleges or universities

[C19: from German Dozent, from Latin docēns from docēre to teach]

'docentship

—n

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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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

docent

1639, from L. docentem, from docere "to teach" (see doctor).

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Matching Quote

"Both art and physics are unique forms of language. Each has a specialized lexicon of symbols that is used in a distinctive syntax. Their very different and specific contexts obscure their connection to everyday language as well as to each other. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy just how often the terms of one can be applied to the concepts of the other. "Volume," "space," "mass," "force," "light," "color," "tension," "relationship," and "density" are descriptive words that are heard repeatedly if you trail along with a museum docent. They also appear on the blackboards of freshman college physics lectures. The proponents of these two diverse endeavors wax poetic about elegance, symmetry, beauty, and aesthetics. While physicists demonstrate that A equals B or that X is the same as Y, artists often choose signs, symbols, and allegories to equate a painterly image with a feature of experience. Both of these techniques reveal previously hidden relationships."

-Leonard Shlain

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