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  • dan
    dan
    noun
    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.
  • Dan
    Dan
    noun
  • Dan.
    Dan.
    abbreviation

dan

1 American  
[dahn, dan] / dɑn, dæn /

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 2 American  
[dan] / dæn /

noun

    1. (in the Bible) a son of Jacob and Bilhah.

    2. one of the 12 tribes of ancient Israel, traditionally descended from him.

  1. the northernmost city of ancient Palestine.

  2. a male given name, form of Daniel.


idioms

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

Dan 3 American  
[dan] / dæn /

noun

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

    Dan Chaucer.


Dan. 4 American  

abbreviation

  1. Bible. Daniel.

  2. Danish. Also Dan


Dan 1 British  
/ dæn /

noun

    1. the fourth son of Jacob (Genesis 30:1–6)

    2. the tribe descended from him

  1. a city in the northern territory of Canaan

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Dan. 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. Bible Daniel

  2. Danish

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dan 3 British  
/ dæn /

noun

  1. any one of the 10 black-belt grades of proficiency

  2. a competitor entitled to dan grading

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Dan 4 British  
/ dæn /

noun

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

    Dan Chaucer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dan 5 British  
/ dæn /

noun

  1. Also called: dan buoy.  a small buoy used as a marker at sea

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of dan1

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

Origin of Dan3

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It is the regular diminutive suffix in Win, -ra, in Tit Dak, -la, in Yank -na, in Santee Dak -dan also -na.

From The Dakotan Languages, and Their Relations to Other Languages by Williamson, A. W. (Andrew Woods)

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