Adjacent Words

Dean definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DEAN, n.
1. In England, am ecclesiastical dignitary in cathedral and collegiate churches, and the head of a chapter; the second dignitary of a diocese. Ancient deans are elected by the chapter in virtue of a conge d'elire from the king and letters missive of recommendation; but in the chapters founded by Henry VIII., out of the spoils of dissolved monasteries, the deanery is donative, and the installation merely by the kings letters patent.
2. An officer in each college of the universities in England.
3. In the U. States, an officer in a medical school.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an administrator in charge of a division of a university or college
2: United States film actor whose moody rebellious roles made him a cult figure (1931-1955) [syn: Dean, James Dean, James Byron Dean]
3: a man who is the senior member of a group; "he is the dean of foreign correspondents" [syn: dean, doyen]
4: (Roman Catholic Church) the head of the College of Cardinals

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English deen, from Anglo-French deen, deien, from Late Latin decanus chief of ten, from Greek dekanos, from deka ten — more at ten Date: 13th century 1. a. the head of the chapter of a collegiate or cathedral church b. a Roman Catholic priest who supervises one district of a diocese 2. a. the head of a division, faculty, college, or school of a university b. a college or secondary school administrator in charge of counseling and disciplining students 3. doyen 1 • dean intransitive verb • deanship noun

Merriam Webster's

biographical name Sir Patrick 1909-1994 British diplomat

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. 1 a the head of the chapter of a cathedral or collegiate church. b (usu. rural dean) Brit. a member of the clergy exercising supervision over a group of parochial clergy within a division of an archdeaconry. 2 a a college or university official, esp. one of several fellows of a college, with disciplinary and advisory functions. b the head of a university faculty or department or of a medical school. 3 = DOYEN. Phrases and idioms: Dean of Faculty the president of the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland. Etymology: ME f. AF deen, OF deien, f. LL decanus f. decem ten; orig. = chief of a group of ten 2. var. of DENE(1).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dean Dean, n. [OE. dene, deene, OF. deien, dien, F. doyen, eldest of a corporation, a dean, L. decanus the chief of ten, one set over ten persons, e. g., over soldiers or over monks, from decem ten. See Ten, and cf. Decemvir.] 1. A dignitary or presiding officer in certain ecclesiastical and lay bodies; esp., an ecclesiastical dignitary, subordinate to a bishop. Dean of cathedral church, the chief officer of a chapter; he is an ecclesiastical magistrate next in degree to bishop, and has immediate charge of the cathedral and its estates. Dean of peculiars, a dean holding a preferment which has some peculiarity relative to spiritual superiors and the jurisdiction exercised in it. [Eng.] Rural dean, one having, under the bishop, the especial care and inspection of the clergy within certain parishes or districts of the diocese. 2. The collegiate officer in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, England, who, besides other duties, has regard to the moral condition of the college. --Shipley. 3. The head or presiding officer in the faculty of some colleges or universities. 4. A registrar or secretary of the faculty in a department of a college, as in a medical, or theological, or scientific department. [U.S.] 5. The chief or senior of a company on occasion of ceremony; as, the dean of the diplomatic corps; -- so called by courtesy. Cardinal dean, the senior cardinal bishop of the college of cardinals at Rome. --Shipley. Dean and chapter, the legal corporation and governing body of a cathedral. It consists of the dean, who is chief, and his canons or prebendaries. Dean of arches, the lay judge of the court of arches. Dean of faculty, the president of an incorporation or barristers; specifically, the president of the incorporation of advocates in Edinburgh. Dean of guild, a magistrate of Scotch burghs, formerly, and still, in some burghs, chosen by the Guildry, whose duty is to superintend the erection of new buildings and see that they conform to the law. Dean of a monastery, Monastic dean, a monastic superior over ten monks. Dean's stall. See Decanal stall, under Decanal.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(deans) 1. A dean is an important official at a university or college. She was Dean of the Science faculty at Sophia University. N-COUNT 2. A dean is a priest who is the main administrator of a large church. ...Alan Webster, former Dean of St Paul's. N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

A per se, Grand Penitentiary, Holy Father, abuna, academic dean, ace, administration, administrator, antipope, archbishop, archdeacon, archon, archpriest, bellwether, bishop, bishop coadjutor, boss, canon, cardinal, cardinal bishop, cardinal deacon, cardinal priest, champion, chancellor, chaplain, chief, chief executive, chief executive officer, coadjutor, commander, curate, dean of men, dean of women, diocesan, doyen, doyenne, ecclesiarch, elder, eldest, exarch, executive, executive director, executive officer, executive secretary, father, first-born, firstling, fugleman, genius, guide, head, headmaster, headmistress, hierarch, high priest, higher-up, important person, kingfish, kingpin, laureate, lead, leader, magistrate, management, managing director, master, metropolitan, nonpareil, officer, official, older, oldest, papa, paragon, patriarch, penitentiary, personage, pilot, pontiff, pope, prebendary, prefect, prelate, president, prexy, primate, principal, prodigy, provost, rector, ruler, rural dean, secretary, senior, sire, star, subdean, suffragan, superior, superman, superstar, the administration, the greatest, the most, top dog, treasurer, vicar, vice-chancellor, vice-president, virtuoso, warden