dauphin

[ daw-fin; French doh-fan ]

noun

, plural dau·phins [daw, -finz, doh-, fan].

1. the eldest son of a king of France, used as a title from 1349 to 1830.

dauphin

/ dɔːˈfɪn; ˈdɔːfɪn; dofɛ̃ /

noun

1. (1349–1830) the title of the direct heir to the French throne; the eldest son of the king of France

Word History and Origins

Origin of dauphin¹

1475–85; < French; Middle French dalphin, after Dauphiné ( def ), from an agreement to thus honor the province after its cession to France

Word History and Origins

Origin of dauphin¹

C15: from Old French: originally a family name; adopted as a title by the Counts of Vienne and later by the French crown princes

Example Sentences

There is one piece of new research that bears directly on Goldstone’s claim about the paternity of the dauphin but which I learned of only after writing my review.

From New York Times

During the outbreak of 1711 alone, smallpox killed the Holy Roman emperor Joseph I; three siblings of the future Holy Roman emperor Francis I; and the heir to the French throne, the grand dauphin Louis.

From New York Times

All this may have begun with Doctorow’s Daniel, a dauphin of radical history, as anointed as he is tormented.

From The New Yorker

As far as allegations of collusion go, the son and the dauphin seem to be off the hook.

From The New Yorker

She was already in her 50s, but I remember thinking that she seemed like a little dauphin prince, dwarfed by the gilt grandeur of her private apartment.

From The Guardian