Showing results for rural dean. Search instead for Rural+dean.

rural dean

American

noun

a cleric ranking just below an archdeacon, in charge of an archdeaconry.

rural dean British

noun

a clergyman having authority over a group of parishes

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of rural dean

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Dean Thrower, who is also rural dean of Hadleigh, was released on police bail until 10 October.

From BBC • Aug. 30, 2016

A rural dean and rector has been suspended from his duties after he was arrested on suspicion of voyeurism.

From BBC • Aug. 30, 2016

He even listened gently to his wife, the angular daughter of a rural dean, who loved to give the little doctor a piece of her mind.

From Time Magazine Archive

Herts, seat of the Cecils, he became rural dean of Hertford in 1904, honorary chaplain to King Edward VII in 1909.

From Time Magazine Archive

He was appointed rural dean in 1870, and honorary canon in 1877.

From Norfolk Annals A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteeth Century, Vol. 2 by Mackie, Charles

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023