dean
noun/diːn/
/diːn/
- (in the Anglican Church) a priest of high rank who is in charge of the other priests in a cathedralTopics Religion and festivalsc2
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- (also rural dean)(British English) a priest who is in charge of the priests of several churches in an area
- 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.
- (in a college or university, especially at Oxford or Cambridge) a person who is responsible for the discipline of students
- (North American English) (also doyen British and North American English)the most respected or most experienced member of a group or profession
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French deien, from late Latin decanus ‘chief of a group of ten’, from decem ‘ten’. Compare with doyen.
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