doyen definitions

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a man who is the senior member of a group; "he is the dean of foreign correspondents" [syn: dean, doyen]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: French, from Old French deien, from Late Latin decanus dean — more at dean Date: 1670 1. a. the senior member of a body or group b. a person considered to be knowledgeable or uniquely skilled as a result of long experience in some field of endeavor 2. the oldest example of a category

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (fem. doyenne) the senior member of a body of colleagues, esp. the senior ambassador at a court. Etymology: F (as DEAN(1))

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Doyen Doy`en", n. [F. See Dean.] Lit., a dean; the senior member of a body or group; as, the doyen of French physicians. ``This doyen of newspapers.'' --A. R. Colquhoun.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(doyens) If you refer to a man as the doyen of a group or profession, you mean that he is the oldest and most experienced and respected member of it. (FORMAL) ...the doyen of political interviewers. N-COUNT: usu sing, usu the N of n [approval]

Moby Thesaurus

artist, authority, bell cow, bellwether, chief, dean, doyenne, elder, eldest, father, first-born, firstling, guide, high priest, important person, kingfish, kingpin, lead, leader, master, maven, older, oldest, personage, pilot, principal, proficient, senior, sire, superior, top dog, virtuoso