LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

decānus

decānus m (genitive decānī)
Classical[dɛˈkaː.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[deˈkaː.nus]

Meaning

  1. Late Latinchief of ten people (in various contexts)
  2. Late Latindean

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativedecānusdecānī
genitivedecānīdecānōrum
dativedecānōdecānīs
accusativedecānumdecānōs
ablativedecānōdecānīs
vocativedecānedecānī

dĕcānus, i, m. decem.
I. A chief of ten, one set over ten persons (late Lat.).
A. Over soldiers, Veg. Mil. 2, 8.—
B. Over monks, a dean, Hier. Ep. 22, no. 35.—
C. The chief of the corpse-bearers, Cod. Just. 1, 2, 4; 9.—
D. As a judge, Vulg. Exod. 18, 21; Deut. 1, 15.—
II. A kind of officer at the imperial court, Cod. 12, 27, 1.—
III. In astrology, the chief of ten parts of a zodiacal sign, Firm. Math. 2, 4.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*déḱm̥
  2. Proto-Italic*dekəm
  3. Latindecānus

Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *-ānos Latin -ānus Latin decānus From decem (“ten”) + -ānus.

Gallo-Romance
  • Catalandegà
  • Occitandegan
  • Frenchdoyenfrom Old French deien
  • Englishdoyenfrom Old French deien
  • Portuguesedaiãofrom Old French deien
  • Englishdeanfrom Old French deien
  • Portuguesedeãofrom Old French deien
  • Spanishdeánfrom Old French deien
  • Normandeyenfrom Old French deien
  • Turkishduayenfrom Old French deien
Borrowings
  • GermanDekan
  • Portuguesedecano
  • Romaniandecan
  • Spanishdecano
  • Byzantine Greekδεκανόςfrom Ancient Greek δεκᾱνός
  • Asturiandecanu
  • Afrikaansdekaanfrom Dutch decaan
  • Indonesiandekanfrom Dutch decaan
  • Papiamentudekanfrom Dutch decaan
  • Turkishdekanfrom German Dekan
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italiandecano
  • Venetandegàn
Ibero-Romance
  • Spanishdegano
  • AsturianDegaña
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friuliandean

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesDecanusDecanus (Fr. doyen, Eng. dean), the head of ten men. The word does not seem to occur before the time of Constantine, and then, except in its ecclesias…

Quick answers

What does decānus mean in Latin?
decānus, a noun, means “chief of ten people (in various contexts); dean”.
What is the genitive of decānus?
The genitive singular is decānī. decānus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce decānus?
In classical Latin, [dɛˈkaː.nʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [deˈkaː.nus].
Where does decānus come from?
Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ → Proto-Italic *dekəm → Latin decānus.