dauphin
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dauphin
1475–85; < French; Middle French dalphin, after Dauphiné ( def. ), from an agreement to thus honor the province after its cession to France
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.
See Examples For:
In the course of his travels, he heard John Calvin speak, had his horoscope read by Nostradamus and witnessed the French dauphin toss a small dog out of a high window.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
All this may have begun with Doctorow’s Daniel, a dauphin of radical history, as anointed as he is tormented.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 29, 2019
Mr Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, was crowned as dauphin to his own father, Kim Il Sung, the country’s founding leader.
From Economist ● Apr. 28, 2016
I have been asked whether I wish to nominate a successor, an inheritor, a dauphin or delfino.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 14, 2015
The little dauphin, happily for himself, died while still a royal baby in his father's palace, and was succeeded by another boy less fortunate in his destiny.
From Stories about Famous Precious Stones by Orpen, Mrs Goddard
It has thus been conjectured by some that the dauphins of Vienne derived their title from Teutonic sources through Germany.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9 "Dagupan" to "David" by Various
It long formed part of Provence, but in 1232 most of the region passed by marriage to the dauphins of Viennois.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various
These are but a few of the numerous sham dauphins who have at various times appeared.
From Celebrated Claimants from Perkin Warbeck to Arthur Orton by Anonymous
In 1232 the county of the Embrunais passed by marriage to the dauphins of Viennois.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 3 "Electrostatics" to "Engis" by Various
This explains the incredible number of false dauphins who have appeared.'
From Tales for Young and Old by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
