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

The new team will be a joint effort between GM and TWG, with Dan Towriss, owner of US team Andretti Global, and TWG’s Mark Walter as the other key investors.

From BBC

Nobody in the history of sport has just stepped into a legend's boots and it's all gone brilliantly into the next iteration of Dan Carter, Jonny Wilkinson or Johnny Sexton.

From BBC

Dan Kerr was speaking as clean-up efforts continue in the aftermath of weekend flooding in Coalisland, County Tyrone and Dundonald in County Down.

From BBC

Sue was targeted when she joined an online dating group a few years after her husband, Dan, died, which she said "devastated" her.

From BBC

"Dan was the best thing that ever happened to me," she said.

From BBC