dean

dean

noun \ˈdēn\

Definition of DEAN

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

— dean·ship \-ˌship\ noun

Examples of DEAN

1. She's the dean of the university's business school.
2. the dean of liberal arts

Origin of DEAN

Middle English deen, from Anglo-French deen, deien, from Late Latin decanus chief of ten, from Greek dekanos, from deka ten — more at ten

First Known Use: 13th century

Related to DEAN

Synonyms: doyen, elder, elder statesman, éminence grise, nestor, senior

Antonyms: baby, junior

Related Words: better, superior; old hand, old-timer, vet, veteran

Near Antonyms: doyenne; inferior, subordinate, underling; beginner, colt, fledgling, freshman, greenhorn, neophyte, newbie, newcomer, novice, recruit, rookie, tenderfoot, tyro

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Rhymes with DEAN

bean, clean, Dean, Deane, dene, e'en, gene, glean, green, jean, keen, lean, lien, mean, mesne, mien, peen, preen, quean, queen, scene, screen, sheen, shin, sin, spean, spleen, teen, tween, wean, ween, wheen, yean