# dean

Pronunciation: say "DEEN" /diːn/

## Noun

1. A senior official in a college or university who heads a faculty or division or has another advisory or disciplinary role.
   - Simple: A senior leader at a college or university who runs one part of it or looks after students.
   - _The new dean of the law school plans to hire ten more faculty members._
   - _Students who break the honor code must meet with the dean of students._
2. The most senior member of a group, often the one who has belonged to it longest.
   - Simple: The oldest or longest-serving member of a group.
   - _As dean of the diplomatic corps, the ambassador welcomed the new envoys on behalf of his colleagues._
   - _After forty years on the bench, she became the dean of the state's judges._
3. A senior official or presiding officer in certain church bodies, especially a cleric who ranks below a bishop and heads a chapter of canons.
   - Simple: A church leader, usually one who is under a bishop and leads a group of priests called canons.
   - _The dean of the cathedral presided over a meeting of the chapter to discuss repairs to the roof._
   - _After twenty years as a parish priest, he was appointed dean at a service led by the bishop._
5. Alternative form of dene. *(dialectal, Northumbria)* — Alternative form of dene.
   - Simple: Another spelling of dene. In the north of England, it means a deep valley with a stream.
   - _The path drops steeply into the dean, where a burn runs under the trees._
   - _Children from the village used to play by the water at the foot of the dean._

## Verb

4. To make a student go before the dean of their college or university. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To send a student to see the dean of their college.
   - _The porters will dean anyone caught climbing over the college wall after midnight._
   - _His tutor deaned him for missing three essays in a row._

## Verb

6. To hold the position of dean. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To work as a dean.
   - _He deaned at two universities before becoming a college president._
   - _Few professors want to dean for more than one term._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A hill.

## Origin

From Middle English den, deen (“dean”), from Anglo-Norman deen and Old French deien (modern French doyen), from Latin decānus. It is a doublet of doyen.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dean (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).