dean English · revision 5517

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1330|origins=la decem}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /diːn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|den|alt=deen, den]], [[bor|xno|deen]], Old French [[m|fro|deien]] (modern French doyen),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la-lat|decānus|t=chief of a group of ten]], from [[m|la|decem|t=ten]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Hoad and Etymonline trace it through Greek dekanós.^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) It replaced Old English teoðingealdor, and [[doyen]] is a doublet.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The head of the chapter of canons of a cathedral: about 1330 in the OED and Barnhart, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The surname Denesclerk is earlier, from 1285.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Late Latin decanus first meant a commander of ten soldiers, then the head of ten monks.^(Etymonline) The president of a university faculty is from the 1520s in Etymonline and 1524 in Barnhart, although the Anglo-Latin use goes back to the 13th century;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the OED has a first date of 1271 for it.^(OED 1989) At Oxford and Cambridge a dean is a fellow who supervises students' conduct, from 1577.^(OED 1989) The senior member of a body by length of service is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1285 – the surname Denesclerk.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1330 – the head of a chapter of canons.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1520s – the head of a university faculty.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1577 – a college officer at Oxford and Cambridge.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The head of a [[faculty]] or department in a [[university]] or college.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A college official responsible for students' discipline or welfare.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The head of the [[chapter]] of a [[cathedral]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The most senior member of a group: ''the dean of the diplomatic corps''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[deanship]]

+ * [[deanery]]

+ * [[rural dean]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[decanal]]

+ * [[doyen]]

+ * [[decade]]

+ * [[ten]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Dean or dene, a valley, as in many English place names, is a different word, from Old English denu and related to [[den]].^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}