dean

1
[ deen ]
/ din /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR dean ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Education.
  1. the head of a faculty, school, or administrative division in a university or college: the dean of admissions.
  2. an official in an American college or secondary school having charge of student personnel services, such as counseling or discipline: the dean of men.
  3. the official in charge of undergraduate students at an English university.
Ecclesiastical.
  1. the head of the chapter of a cathedral or a collegiate church.
  2. 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.
the senior member, in length of service, of any group, organization, profession, etc.: the dean of lexicographers.

Origin of dean

1
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

OTHER WORDS FROM dean

dean·ship, noun

Words nearby dean

deamidizing enzyme, deaminase, deaminate, deamination, deaminize, dean, dean of faculty, dean of guild, dean's list, deane, deanery

Definition for dean (2 of 4)

dean 2
[ deen ]
/ din /

noun British.

dene.

Definition for dean (3 of 4)

Dean
[ deen ]
/ din /

noun

James (Byron),1931–55, U.S. actor.
Jay HannaDizzy,1911–74, U.S. baseball pitcher.
a male given name: from the Old English family name meaning “valley.”

Definition for dean (4 of 4)

dene

or dean

[ deen ]
/ din /

noun British.

a bare, sandy tract or low sand hill near the sea.

Origin of dene

1815–20; earlier den, in same sense, Middle English (in phrase den and strond); perhaps to be identified with Middle English dene, Old English denu, dænu valley

Words related to dean

senior, professor, administrator, legislator, principal, lead, dignitary, authority, tack, president, guide, ecclesiastic, pilot, doyen

Example sentences from the Web for dean

British Dictionary definitions for dean (1 of 6)

dean
/ (diːn) /

noun

the chief administrative official of a college or university faculty
(at Oxford and Cambridge universities) a college fellow with responsibility for undergraduate discipline
mainly Church of England the head of a chapter of canons and administrator of a cathedral or collegiate church
RC Church the cardinal bishop senior by consecration and head of the college of cardinals See also rural dean Related adjective: decanal

Derived forms of dean

deanship, noun

Word Origin for dean

C14: from Old French deien, from Late Latin decānus one set over ten persons, from Latin decem ten

British Dictionary definitions for dean (2 of 6)

Dean 1
/ (diːn) /

noun

Forest of Dean a forest in W England, in Gloucestershire, between the Rivers Severn and Wye: formerly a royal hunting ground

British Dictionary definitions for dean (3 of 6)

Dean 2
/ (diːn) /

noun

Christopher. See Torvill and Dean
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

British Dictionary definitions for dean (4 of 6)

dene 1

dean

/ (diːn) /

noun

British a valley, esp one that is narrow and wooded

Word Origin for dene

Old English denu valley; see den

British Dictionary definitions for dean (5 of 6)

dene 2

dean

/ (diːn) /

noun

dialect, mainly Southern English a sandy stretch of land or dune near the sea

Word Origin for dene

C13: probably related to Old English dūn hill; see down ³

British Dictionary definitions for dean (6 of 6)

Dene
/ (ˈdɛnɪ, ˈdɛneɪ) /

pl n

the North American Indian peoples of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories in Canada. The official body representing them is called the Dene Nation

Word Origin for Dene

via French déné, from Athapascan dene people