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Definition of dean noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

dean

noun
 
/diːn/
 
/diːn/
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  1. (in the Anglican Church) a priest of high rank who is in charge of the other priests in a cathedralTopics Religion and festivalsc2
  2. (also rural dean)
     (British English) a priest who is in charge of the priests of several churches in an area
  3. a person in a university who is in charge of a department of studies
    • the dean of the Faculty of Medicine
    • He was appointed dean of the faculty of theology at London University.
    Topics Educationc2
  4. (in a college or university, especially at Oxford or Cambridge) a person who is responsible for the discipline of students
  5. (North American English)
    (also doyen British and North American English)
    the most respected or most experienced member of a group or profession
    6. Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French deien, from late Latin decanus ‘chief of a group of ten’, from decem ‘ten’. Compare with doyen.
See dean in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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Nearby words

hat-trick
noun
 
 
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