doyen
/dwa.jɛ̃/masculine
The French word for dean is doyen.
doyen refers to a dean at a college or university, but it is also used more broadly to describe the most senior or eldest member of a group or a profession.
Meaning: senior official in college or university (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine form is doyen and the feminine form is doyenne.
How do you pronounce it?
/dwa.jɛ̃/
Did you know?
- The word doyen is rooted in the number ten, coming from the Latin 'decem'. It originally described a leader of a group of ten people.
- In diplomatic circles, the doyen is the longest serving ambassador in a capital city and often serves as the spokesperson for the diplomatic corps.
- While an English dean is often an administrator, a French doyen can refer to the most elderly member of a community, such as a village, regardless of their job.
Examples in context
- Le doyen a serré la main de chacun des étudiants diplômés.The dean shook hands with each of the graduating students.This sentence shows how the dean interacted with graduating students.Tatoeba #8636239 by Aiji, translation #4466452 by AlanF_US
- Incroyable, l'un des étudiants s'est levé et a montré ses fesses au doyen en plein milieu de son discours.Incredibly, one of the students stood up and mooned the dean right in the middle of his speech.This sentence illustrates an unusual incident involving a student and the dean during a speech.Tatoeba #819648 by sacredceltic, translation #592400 by darinmex
- Le doyen de la faculté des sciences prononcera un discours lors de la cérémonie d'ouverture.The dean of the Faculty of Sciences will give a speech during the opening ceremony.
- Le directeur de l'école est toujours disponible pour discuter avec les étudiants.The dean of the school is always available to talk to the students.
- Le doyen de la faculté est très respecté.The dean of the faculty is very respected.
Example conversation
Emma and Gabriel are walking on a university campus.
- EmmaEst-ce que tu as vu le doyen ?Have you seen the dean?
- GabrielNon, je ne l'ai pas vu aujourd'hui.No, I haven't seen him today.
- EmmaIl doit être dans son bureau.He must be in his office.
- GabrielD'accord, allons voir s'il est là.Okay, let's go see if he is there.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dean” translations and entries doyen, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries doyen, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
