dan English · revision 4854

+ Of the several English words spelled ''dan'', the common one is the grade in judo and karate, from Japanese, and an older one is a title of honour from Latin dominus.^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dæn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

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+ {{homograph|1|grade}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1941|origins=ja 段}}

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|ja|段|tr=dan|t=step, grade]].^(MWU 2024)^(Wiktionary)^(OED 1989)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In judo, a degree of proficiency or the holder of one: 1941 in the OED and Evans, in Feldenkrais's Judo.^(OED 1989)^(Evans 1997) MWU dates its first known use to 1952,^(MWU 2024) and the COED and Shorter Oxford to the 1940s.^(COED 2004)^(SOED 2002)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The dan grades are the advanced, black-belt levels, as opposed to the lower kyu grades.^(Evans 1997)^(Collins 2023) The word spread from judo to karate and other Japanese and Korean martial arts,^(Evans 1997)^(AHD) and to the expert levels of games such as shogi.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024) ''Dan-holder'' is from 1941.^(OED 1989)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1941 – a grade in judo.^(OED 1989)^(Evans 1997)

+ * 1952 – first known use in MWU.^(MWU 2024)

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+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of the advanced grades of skill in [[judo]], [[karate]] and other martial arts, shown by a black belt.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person who has reached such a grade.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An expert level in shogi and similar games.^(AHD)

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+ {{homograph|2|title}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1303|origins=la dominus}}

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|dan]], daun, [[bor|fro|dan|t=lord, master]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[la-med|domnus]], from Latin dominus “lord, master”,^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) from domus “house”,^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*dem-|t=house, household]].^(Etymonline) It is the masculine of [[dame]],^(Weekley 1921) and related to Spanish [[don]], Portuguese dom and Italian donno.^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An honourable title, “Master, Sir”, used of members of religious orders: about 1300 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) 1303 in the OED, also of distinguished men such as knights, scholars and poets.^(OED 1989)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was common in Chaucer, and Spenser in turn called him ''Dan Chaucer''.^(Weekley 1921) It was used of deities too, as in ''Dan Cupid''.^(OED 1989) The title is now archaic, and modern French has dom instead.^(Etymonline)^(AHD)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1303 – a title of honour.^(OED 1989)

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+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(archaic)'' A title of honour for men, especially monks, scholars and poets, like [[Master]] or [[Sir]].^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dame]]

+ * [[don]]

+ * [[domain]]

+ * [[kyu]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ A third dan is a small marker buoy, also ''dan buoy'' (1687), of unknown origin,^(OED 1989)^(COED 2004)^(Collins 2023) and in mining dialect a dan was a small tub or truck for drawing coal (1852).^(OED 1989)^(Wright 1898) As a name, Dan is short for Daniel, and the tribe of Dan gave ''from Dan to Beersheba'', from one end of a country to the other.^(Etymonline)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}