Dan

¹

[ dan ]

noun

1. 1. (in the Bible) a son of Jacob and Bilhah.
   2. one of the 12 tribes of ancient Israel, traditionally descended from him.
2. the northernmost city of ancient Palestine.
3. a male given name, form of Daniel.

Dan

²

[ dan ]

noun

, Archaic.

1. a title of honor equivalent to master or sir:

   Dan Chaucer.

dan

³

[ dahn, dan ]

noun

, Martial Arts.

1. a degree of expertise in karate, judo, tae kwon do, etc., usually signified by the wearing of a cloth belt of a particular color; level:

   a sixth-degree dan.

Dan.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. Bible. Daniel ( def 1b ).
2. Danish ( def 2 ). Also Dan

Dan

¹

/ dæn /

noun

1. an archaic title of honour, equivalent to Master or Sir

   Dan Chaucer

dan

²

/ dæn /

noun

1. any one of the 10 black-belt grades of proficiency
2. a competitor entitled to dan grading

Dan

³

/ dæn /

noun

1. 1. the fourth son of Jacob (Genesis 30:1–6)
   2. the tribe descended from him
2. a city in the northern territory of Canaan

dan

⁴

/ dæn /

noun

1. a small buoy used as a marker at sea Also calleddan buoy

Dan.

⁵

abbreviation for

1. Bible Daniel
2. Danish

Word History and Origins

Origin of Dan¹

1275–1325; Middle English < Old French danz < Medieval Latin domnus, contraction of Latin dominus “lord, master”

Origin of Dan²

First recorded in 1940–45; from Japanese, from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese duàn “step, grade”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Dan¹

Japanese

Origin of Dan²

C17: of unknown origin

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. from Dan to Beersheba, from one outermost extreme or limit to the other.

Example Sentences

Its first sale was a Dan Colen work, which sold for “something like $120,000 or $150,000.”

From The Daily Beast

The real power lies in a handful of men like Dan Loeb, who personally put up a million dollars to take over the Senate.

From The Daily Beast

In his first term, Dan Malloy enacted a hugely ambitious progressive agenda.

From The Daily Beast

But perhaps a better name for this crowd would be “the Dan Malloy wing of the Democratic Party.”

From The Daily Beast

There was that Twitter rant by Dan Haseltine, lead singer of Jars of Clay, supporting gay marriage.

From The Daily Beast

Lawrence and Dan were passing a newspaper office, before which a large crowd had gathered, reading the war bulletins.

From Project Gutenberg

Lawrence and Dan were told of the danger that threatened Fulton, and they determined to accompany Guitar in his expedition.

From Project Gutenberg

It was not until they were on the ferryboat crossing the river that Harry was aware that Lawrence and Dan were of the number.

From Project Gutenberg

Dan inserted the primer, pulled the lanyard and sent the contents of the gun into the ranks of the enemy.

From Project Gutenberg

There was no need of Lawrence signaling Dan to come on, for the squad were urging their horses to the limit.

From Project Gutenberg