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dean

 - 8 dictionary results

dean

1  [deen]
Use dean in a Sentence
–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; ME deen < AF deen, dean, OF deien < LL decānus chief of ten, equiv. to L dec(em) ten + -ānus -an

Related forms:
deanship, noun

dean

2  [deen]
–noun British.
dene.

Dean

  [deen]
–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.”

dene

  [deen]
–noun British.
a bare, sandy tract or low sand hill near the sea.
Also, dean.

Origin:
1815–20; earlier den, in same sense, ME (in phrase den and strond); perh. to be identified with ME dene, OE denu, dænu valley
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To dean
dean   (dēn)   
n.  

    1. An administrative officer in charge of a college, faculty, or division in a university.

    2. An officer of a college or high school who counsels students and supervises the enforcement of rules.

  2. Ecclesiastical The head of the chapter of canons governing a cathedral or collegiate church.

  3. Roman Catholic Church A priest appointed to oversee a group of parishes within a diocese.

  4. The senior member of a body or group: the dean of the Washington diplomatic corps.


[Middle English deen, from Old French deien, from Late Latin decānus, chief of ten, from decem, ten, or from Greek dekānos, chief of ten (from deka, ten); see dek in Indo-European roots.]
dean'ship' n.
Dean   (dēn)   
American actor whose moody, rebellious persona in films such as East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause (both 1955) made him a cult figure. He died in an automobile accident.
Dean, Jay Hanna Known as "Dizzy." 1911-1974.  
American baseball player. A right-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1930-1937), he is best remembered for his 1934 season, in which he won 30 regular-season games, led the league in strikeouts, and won two World Series games.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dean 
c.1330, 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 1577 (in L. from 1271).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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