First published 1894; not fully revised More entries for dean
Factsheet
What does the noun dean mean?
There are 16 meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun dean, two of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
dean has developed meanings and uses in subjects including
religion (Middle English) military (Middle English) university (early 1500s) ecclesiastical (mid 1600s) medicine (1840s)
Entry status
OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.
How common is the noun dean?
About 4occurrences per million words in modern written English
See frequency
How is the noun dean pronounced?
British English
/diːn/
deen
U.S. English
/din/
deen
See pronunciation
Where does the noun dean come from?
Earliest known use
Middle English
The earliest known use of the noun dean is in the Middle English period (1150—1500).
OED's earliest evidence for dean is from around 1330, in the writing of Robert Mannyng, poet and historian.
dean is a borrowing from French.
Etymons: French deien.
See etymology
Nearby entries
- dealth, n.1637
- deal tree, n.a1825–
- deal-yard, n.1705–
- deambulate, v.1623
- deambulation, n.1531–
- deambulator, n.1630
- 1430–
- deambulatour, n.a1522–72
- deamination, n.1912–
- de-ample, v.1657
- dean, n.¹c1330–
- dean | dene, n.²Old English–
- dean, n.³1874–
- deaner | deener, n.1839–
- deanery, n.a1440–
- deaness, n.1761–
- dea-nettle, n.?1530–
- de-anglicize, v.1890–
- de-animalize, v.1865–
- de-anonymization, n.1975–
- de-anonymize, v.1942–
Browse more nearby entries
Etymology
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Meaning & use
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