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

“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

John Legend, Chance the Rapper and Dan + Shay will not return for Season 26 of ‘The Voice.’

From Los Angeles Times

It is their best start to a season since 1934 as Dan Campbell's side reinforced their position as the NFC favourites to make what would be their first ever Super Bowl.

From BBC

Kelsey Grammer, Dan Ackroyd, Rob Lowe and Dennis Quaid have all been involved with programs for the service.

From Los Angeles Times

D.C. security attorney Dan Meyer told CNN that Trump’s team has little interest in the norms of staffing his administration.

From Salon