DEFINITION
DEAN:
• (n.) A dignitary or presiding officer in certain ecclesiastical
and lay bodies; esp., an ecclesiastical dignitary, subordinate to a
bishop.
• (n.) The collegiate officer in the universities of Oxford and
Cambridge, England, who, besides other duties, has regard to the moral
condition of the college.
• (n.) The head or presiding officer in the faculty of some colleges
or universities.
• (n.) A registrar or secretary of the faculty in a department of a
college, as in a medical, or theological, or scientific department.
• (n.) The chief or senior of a company on occasion of ceremony; as,
the dean of the diplomatic corps; -- so called by courtesy.