Dan

¹

[ dan ]

noun

1. 1. (in the Bible) a son of Jacob and Bilhah.
   2. one of the 12 tribes of ancient Israel, traditionally descended from him.
2. the northernmost city of ancient Palestine.
3. a male given name, form of Daniel.

Dan

²

[ dan ]

noun

, Archaic.

1. a title of honor equivalent to master or sir:

   Dan Chaucer.

dan

³

[ dahn, dan ]

noun

, Martial Arts.

1. a degree of expertise in karate, judo, tae kwon do, etc., usually signified by the wearing of a cloth belt of a particular color; level:

   a sixth-degree dan.

Dan.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. Bible. Daniel ( def 1b ).
2. Danish ( def 2 ). Also Dan

Dan

¹

/ dæn /

noun

1. an archaic title of honour, equivalent to Master or Sir

   Dan Chaucer

dan

²

/ dæn /

noun

1. any one of the 10 black-belt grades of proficiency
2. a competitor entitled to dan grading

Dan

³

/ dæn /

noun

1. 1. the fourth son of Jacob (Genesis 30:1–6)
   2. the tribe descended from him
2. a city in the northern territory of Canaan

dan

⁴

/ dæn /

noun

1. a small buoy used as a marker at sea Also calleddan buoy

Dan.

⁵

abbreviation for

1. Bible Daniel
2. Danish

Word History and Origins

Origin of Dan¹

1275–1325; Middle English < Old French danz < Medieval Latin domnus, contraction of Latin dominus “lord, master”

Origin of Dan²

First recorded in 1940–45; from Japanese, from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese duàn “step, grade”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Dan¹

Japanese

Origin of Dan²

C17: of unknown origin

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. from Dan to Beersheba, from one outermost extreme or limit to the other.

Example Sentences

Straight out of Hawthorne, Redd Kross is getting some long overdue attention with a new documentary, “Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story,” directed by Andrew Reich, and a new book, “Now You’re One of Us: The Incredible Story of Redd Kross,” written by founders Jeff and Steven McDonald, with Dan Epstein.

From Los Angeles Times

She and her best friend, Dan Brier, had sold their joint effort, the coming-of-age comedy “Sweethearts,” to producers at Picturestart, a company with a deal at Warner Bros.

From Los Angeles Times

He informed task force founder Dan Spencer he was all in, and agreed to design the project pro bono.

From Los Angeles Times

“For a year and a half, he showed up in every neighborhood, every day. He listened and talked to everybody he ran into,” said Dan Newman, a strategist who ran the independent expenditure committee supporting Lurie.

From Los Angeles Times

“They really are scared,” toxicologist Dan Costa, who retired from EPA in 2018, says of the agency researchers he’s in touch with.

From Science Magazine