Definition of doyen
1a : the senior member of a body or groupb : 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
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Examples of doyen in a Sentence
He is considered the doyen of political journalists.
considered the doyen of American art critics
Recent Examples of doyen from the Web
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The Causal Diamond Bousso first encountered the measure problem in the 1990s as a graduate student working with Stephen Hawking, the doyen of black hole physics.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'doyen'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
English picked up "doyen" from French in the 17th century. The French term in turn comes from the Late Latin word decanus, which itself comes from the Greek dekanos, meaning "chief of ten." A "doyen" can be a leader of a group, such as a diplomatic corps. In this regard, the word has been used to refer to someone who is specifically or tacitly allowed to speak for that group. More broadly, a "doyen" refers to a highly skilled and respected veteran of a particular field. The feminine form of "doyen" is "doyenne."
Origin and Etymology of doyen
French, from Old French deien, from Late Latin decanus dean — more at dean
First Known Use: 1670
DOYEN Defined for English Language Learners
doyen
playDefinition of doyen for English Language Learners
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: a person who has a lot of experience in or knowledge about a particular profession, subject, etc.
Learn More about doyen
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See words that rhyme with doyen Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for doyen Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about doyen
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