dauphin

[daw-fin; French doh-fan]

noun, plural dau·phins [daw-finz; French doh-fan] /ˈdɔ fɪnz; French doʊˈfɛ̃/.

the eldest son of a king of France, used as a title from 1349 to 1830.

Nearby words

Origin of dauphin

1475–85; < French; Middle French dalphin, after Dauphiné, from an agreement to thus honor the province after its cession to France

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dauphin

Dr. George Crozier of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab discusses the environmental impact the oil spill will have on the Gulf Coast.
Video from the Gulf Coast Oil Crisis|The Daily Beast Video|May 7, 2010|DAILY BEAST
He presented it to the dauphin, who approached and presented it to the king.
Louis XIV., Makers of History Series|John S. C. Abbott
The dauphin ordered him to be fetched thence, and put to death.
Cassell's History of England, Vol. I (of 9)|Anonymous
Save for this wild fancy of going to the Dauphin she hath ever been most dutiful.
Joan of Arc|Lucy Foster Madison

He received the duchy of Touraine in 1416, and in the next year the death of his brother John made him dauphin of France.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 8|Various
Conti did not, however, succeed in taking this fortress, and had to retire into Dauphin for his winter quarters.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1|Various

British Dictionary definitions for dauphin

dauphin

noun

(1349–1830) the title of the direct heir to the French throne; the eldest son of the king of France

Word Origin for dauphin

C15: from Old French: originally a family name; adopted as a title by the Counts of Vienne and later by the French crown princes

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

Word Origin and History for dauphin

dauphin

"eldest son of the king of France" (title in use from 1349-1830), early 15c., from Middle French dauphin, literally "dolphin" (see dolphin).

Originally the title attached to "the Dauphin of Viennois," whose province (in the French Alps north of Provence) came to be known as Dauphiné. Three dolphins were on the coat of arms of the lords of Viennois, first worn by Guido IV (d.1142). It is said originally to have been a personal name among the lords of Viennois. Humbert III, the last lord of Dauphiné, ceded the province to Philip of Valois in 1349, on condition that the title be perpetuated by the eldest son of the king of France. The French fem. form is dauphine.