doyenne

noun

: a woman who is a doyen

Examples of doyenne in a Sentence

the doyenne of the fashion industry
Recent Examples on the Web Dueling visions The far-right National Rally, spearheaded by Le Pen, the long-time doyenne of France’s anti-immigration camp, currently holds 88 to Macron’s bloc’s 250 seats in the 577-seat French parliament and, in theory, the upcoming election is far from a two-horse race. Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, 10 June 2024 Those against her include the doyennes of the Palm Royale, played by Allison Janney, Leslie Bibb and the incomparable Julia Duffy. Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024 The coterie includes high society doyennes like Babe Paley, Slim Keith, Lee Radziwell, and C.Z. Guest, and the series follows them before, during, and after the fallout. Cady Lang, TIME, 2 Feb. 2024 Dion kicks it off, singing with trembling innocence about a romantic crisis, then Streisand enters, taking on the role of a wiser, stronger woman more experienced in such messes — a doyenne of love. Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 18 Nov. 2023 See all Example Sentences for doyenne 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'doyenne.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French, feminine of doyen

First Known Use

circa 1897, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of doyenne was circa 1897

Dictionary Entries Near doyenne

Cite this Entry

“Doyenne.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doyenne. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.

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