Dean
/diːn/noun
The head of a cathedral chapter, faculty, or other administrative division.
Did you know?Dean ultimately comes from the Latin for “ten,” because early church organization borrowed the Roman idea of a leader over ten men.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dekm̥
“ten”
Latin
Latin
decem
“ten”
Late Latin
Latin
decanus
“leader of ten; head of a group of ten monks or clerics”
Old English
Old English
dēan
“church official, dean”
Middle English
English
dean
“head of a cathedral chapter or similar body”
Modern English
English
dean
“head of an academic, ecclesiastical, or administrative division”