dean

¹

[ deen ]

noun

1. Education.
   1. the head of a faculty, school, or administrative division in a university or college:

      the dean of admissions.

   2. an official in an American college or secondary school having charge of student personnel services, such as counseling or discipline:

      the dean of men.

   3. the official in charge of undergraduate students at an English university.
2. Ecclesiastical.
   1. the head of the chapter of a cathedral or a collegiate church.
   2. Also called vicar forane. a priest in the Roman Catholic Church appointed by a bishop to take care of the affairs of a division of a diocese.
3. the senior member, in length of service, of any group, organization, profession, etc.:

   the dean of lexicographers.

Dean

²

[ deen ]

noun

1. James (Byron), 1931–55, U.S. actor.
2. Jay Hanna Dizzy, 1911–74, U.S. baseball pitcher.
3. a male given name: from the Old English family name meaning “valley.”

Dean

¹

/ diːn /

noun

1. Christopher. See Torvill and Dean
2. DeanJames (Byron)19311955MUSFILMS AND TV: actor James ( Byron ). 1931–55, US film actor, who became a cult figure; his films include East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause (both 1955). He died in a car crash

Dean

²

/ diːn /

noun

1. Forest of Dean
   a forest in W England, in Gloucestershire, between the Rivers Severn and Wye: formerly a royal hunting ground

dean

³

/ diːn /

noun

1. the chief administrative official of a college or university faculty
2. (at Oxford and Cambridge universities) a college fellow with responsibility for undergraduate discipline
3. Church of England the head of a chapter of canons and administrator of a cathedral or collegiate church
4. RC Church the cardinal bishop senior by consecration and head of the college of cardinals See also rural dean decanal

Derived Forms

• ˈdeanˌship, noun

Other Words From

• deanship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dean¹

1300–50; Middle English deen < Anglo-French deen, dean, Old French deien < Late Latin decānus chief of ten, equivalent to Latin dec ( em ) ten + -ānus -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of dean¹

C14: from Old French deien, from Late Latin decānus one set over ten persons, from Latin decem ten

Example Sentences

“It was kind of like I was in the dean’s office,” she says now, reflecting on the interaction.

From Los Angeles Times

“If I were wealthy today, I would not be buying stock in the entertainment world,” said Stephen Galloway, dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

From Los Angeles Times

She had recently worked for him as a senior policy advisor and also had a long career as a teacher, dean and coach at Dorsey High.

From Los Angeles Times

Reaching deeper and much hotter, heat reserves is the "Holy Grail", says Rosalind Archer, the dean of Griffith University, and former director of the Geothermal Institute in New Zealand.

From BBC

Among them was director Alexander Mackendrick, the dean of the film school at the time.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• administrator
• legislator
• principal
• professor
• senior