What is "dean"

Dean \Dean\, n. [OE. dene, deene, OF. deien, dien, F. doyen, eldest of a corporation, a dean, L. decanus the chief of ten, one set over ten persons, e. g., over soldiers or over monks, from decem ten. See Ten, and cf. Decemvir.]

1. A dignitary or presiding officer in certain ecclesiastical and lay bodies; esp., an ecclesiastical dignitary, subordinate to a bishop.

   Dean of cathedral church, the chief officer of a chapter; he is an ecclesiastical magistrate next in degree to bishop, and has immediate charge of the cathedral and its estates.

   Dean of peculiars, a dean holding a preferment which has some peculiarity relative to spiritual superiors and the jurisdiction exercised in it. [Eng.]

   Rural dean, one having, under the bishop, the especial care and inspection of the clergy within certain parishes or districts of the diocese.

2. The collegiate officer in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, England, who, besides other duties, has regard to the moral condition of the college.
   --Shipley.

3. The head or presiding officer in the faculty of some colleges or universities.

4. A registrar or secretary of the faculty in a department of a college, as in a medical, or theological, or scientific department. [U.S.]

5. The chief or senior of a company on occasion of ceremony; as, the dean of the diplomatic corps; -- so called by courtesy.

   Cardinal dean, the senior cardinal bishop of the college of cardinals at Rome.
   --Shipley.

   Dean and chapter, the legal corporation and governing body of a cathedral. It consists of the dean, who is chief, and his canons or prebendaries.

   Dean of arches, the lay judge of the court of arches.

   Dean of faculty, the president of an incorporation or barristers; specifically, the president of the incorporation of advocates in Edinburgh.

   Dean of guild, a magistrate of Scotch burghs, formerly, and still, in some burghs, chosen by the Guildry, whose duty is to superintend the erection of new buildings and see that they conform to the law.

   Dean of a monastery, Monastic dean, a monastic superior over ten monks.

   Dean's stall. See Decanal stall, under Decanal.

early 14c., from Old French deien (12c., Modern French doyen), from Late Latin decanus "head of a group of 10 monks in a monastery," from earlier secular meaning "commander of 10 soldiers" (which was extended to civil administrators in the late empire), from Greek dekanos, from deka "ten" (see ten). Replaced Old English teoðingealdor. College sense is from 1570s (in Latin from late 13c.).

n. 1 A title afforded to a dean. 2 (surname habitational from=Middle English dot=) surname from (etyl enm en) ''dene'' "valley". 3 (given name male from=surnames) derived from the surname or from the title.

1. n. an administrator in charge of a division of a university or college

2. United States film actor whose moody rebellious roles made him a cult figure (1931-1955) [syn: James Dean, James Byron Dean]

3. a man who is the senior member of a group; "he is the dean of foreign correspondents" [syn: doyen]

4. (Roman Catholic Church) the head of the College of Cardinals

Dean may refer to:

• Dean (given name)
• Dean (surname)

A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Lutheran Church. A dean's deputy is called a subdean.

Dean (dates unknown) was an English amateur cricketer who made 7 known appearances in first-class cricket matches from 1787 to 1790.

Dean is a male given name, sometimes used as a middle name.

• A name originated from the Greek word "Decanos" which means "Monk or dignitary in charge of (10) others", and Latin word "Decanum" which means "Chief of a group of (10)".
• The name "Dean" also means "valley" in the Old English language, and "law" in Hebrew.
• "Dean" or also spelled "Deen" means "religion" or "the way of life" in Arabic.

In academic administrations such as colleges or universities, a dean is the person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both. Deans are occasionally found in middle schools and high schools as well.

The term comes from the Latin decanus, "a leader of ten", taken from the medieval monasteries (particularly those following the Cluniac Reforms) which were often extremely large, with hundreds of monks (the size of a small college campus). The monks were organized into groups of ten for administrative purposes, along the lines of military platoons, headed by a senior monk, the decanus.

The term was later used to denote the head of a community of priests, as the chapter of a cathedral, or a section of a diocese (a "deanery").

When the universities grew out of the cathedral and monastery schools, the title of dean was used for officials with various administrative duties.

Dean is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Dean (Middlesex cricketer) ( fl. 1787–1790), amateur cricketer from Middlesex
• Anna-Maria Ravnopolska-Dean, harpist
• Bashford Dean, American ornithologist
• Brett Dean (born 1961), Australian composer
• Charles Dean (died 1974), deceased brother of Howard Dean and Jim Dean
• Christopher Dean, British figure skater
• Dixie Dean, English footballer
• Dizzy Dean (1910–1974), baseball pitcher
• Eddie Dean (disambiguation), several people
• Elton Dean, jazz musician
• Everett Dean (1898–1993), American college sports coach
• Gordon Dean (disambiguation), several people
• Henry Clay Dean, American orator and author
• Howard Dean, U.S. presidential candidate in 2004 elections
• James Dean, American actor
• Janet Dean, later Janet Dean Fodor, American professor of linguistics
• Jim Dean (DFA), Chairman of Democracy for America
• Joe Dean (1930–2013), American basketball player
• John Dean, White House Counsel to President Richard M. Nixon and central Watergate figure
• Julia Dean (stage actress) (1830–1868), stage actress
• Julia Dean (actress) (1878–1952), stage and screen actress
• Kevin Dean (disambiguation), multiple people
• Lynn Dean, Louisiana politician
• Mark Dean (swimmer), American swimmer
• Mike Dean (disambiguation), multiple people
• Nathan Dean (1934–2013), American businessman and politician
• Nelson Dean, American baseball player
• Norman Dean, footballer
• Pap Dean, political cartoonist
• Paul Dean (disambiguation), multiple people
• Ralph Dean (born 1913), Canadian Anglican cleric
• Reg Dean (1902–2013), British supercentenarian
• Roger Dean (artist), album cover designer
• Simon Dean, one of the stage names of Mike Bucci, World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler
• Thomas Dean (1920–2004), English cricketer
• Tony Dean (1932–2008), British racing driver
• Winton Dean (1916–2013), English musicologist

Kwon Hyuk (; born November 10, 1992), better known by his stage name Dean, is a South Korean alternative R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. He has released one solo EP, 130 mood : TRBL, as well as multiple collaborations with both American and South Korean artists.

Dean is an American independent film written and directed by Demetri Martin and produced by Honora Productions. The film stars Demetri Martin, Gillian Jacobs, and Kevin Kline.