dauphin

noun, often capitalized dau·phin \ ˈdȯ-fən , ˈdō- ; ˌdō-ˈfaⁿ \

|Updated on: 26 Jul 2018

Definition of dauphin

: the eldest son of a king of France

Recent Examples of dauphin from the Web

Her intended, Louis-August (Jason Schwartzman), current dauphin of France and future King Louis XVI, is the 18th century equivalent of a shy A/V nerd, and completely incapable of standing up for his new bride in a court of gossips and mean girls.

— refinery29.com, "Why Marie Antoinette Is Really Mean Girls, Versailles Edition," 10 July 2018
In 1955, Dior duly hired the unusually talented young man as an assistant, and Saint Laurent soon became the master’s acknowledged dauphin, entrusted with more and more design responsibilities.

— hamish bowles, Vogue, "In Paris, a New Exhibition Pays Tribute to Yves Saint Laurent’s Earliest Imaginings," 12 June 2018
Others, like Huck Finn's dubious riverboat dauphin, count on the people around them to be ignorant of aristocratic mores and genealogical charts and awed by the idea of nobility.

— sadie stein, Town & Country, "Why Are Rich People So Easily Fooled?," 26 Feb. 2017
The party closed ranks after a bitter primary in December, when Mr Abdo Benítez defeated Santiago Peña, the dauphin of the outgoing president, Horacio Cartes.

— The Economist, "The son of an ex-dictator’s secretary is elected president of Paraguay," 28 Apr. 2018
This casual diminishing of half the population has led to all sorts of ludicrous explanations for pivotal episodes, one of the most droll being that angels led Joan of Arc to the court of the hapless dauphin, Charles VII.

— nancy goldstone, Time, "I'm a Historian, and I Think Women's History Month Is a Mistake," 23 Mar. 2018
Wieseman placed the Panini near a 1731 work by the same painter depicting preparations for a 1729 celebration in the Piazza Navona in Rome of the birth of the dauphin.

— steven litt, cleveland.com, ""Eyewitness Views" at Cleveland Museum of Art revives forgotten meanings of 18th century 'view paintings' (photos," 25 Feb. 2018
The crowd cheered as Marie Antoinette held up the dauphin, their heir.

— merrill fabry, Time, "The Surprisingly Peaceful History of Bastille Day Celebrations," 13 July 2017
Wedding at the Royal Chapel in Versaille Marie Antoinette and the dauphin, Louis XVI — who, per tradition, had never met — were married at the age of 14 and 16 respectively, in an effort to solidify diplomatic relations between Austria and France.

— jess mchugh, Smithsonian, "25 Marie Antoinette-Inspired Destinations," 19 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dauphin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

From 1350 to 1830, dauphin was the title given to the eldest son of a king of France, or the heir apparent to the French crown. The title was established by the royal house of France through the purchase of lands known as the Dauphiné in 1349 by the future Charles V. The Dauphiné was a region and former province in what is now southeastern France. It was sold to King Philip VI of France and ultimately became a grant of land to the eldest son of the French king, who assumed the title (dauphin) attached to the land. The area had a quasi-independent status until it was annexed to France in 1457.