Etymology

doyen

D2O1Y4E1N1

Today it means: A commander in charge of ten men. Full definition →

French doyen ← Late Latin decānus ← Latin decem
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromdecem
  2. Late Latin · derived fromdecānus
  3. French · borrowed fromdoyen
  4. English todaydoyen

Borrowed from French doyen, from Late Latin decānus, from Latin decem. Compare the doublet dean.

Words from the same roots

Late Latindecānus all →

decan

Latindecem all →

Decemberdecem-decempedaldecuple

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.