dauphin

[ daw-fin; French doh-fan ]

noun,plural dau·phins [daw-finz; French doh-fan]. /ˈdɔ fɪnz; French doʊˈfɛ̃/.
  1. the eldest son of a king of France, used as a title from 1349 to 1830.

Origin of dauphin

1
1475–85; <French; Middle French dalphin, after Dauphiné, from an agreement to thus honor the province after its cession to France

Words Nearby dauphin

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How to use dauphin in a sentence

  • Her idolatry for Francois I. saved the house of the Medici from all suspicion when the dauphin was poisoned.

    Catherine de' Medici | Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for dauphin

dauphin

/ (ˈdɔːfɪn, dɔːˈfɪn, French dofɛ̃) /


noun
  1. (1349–1830) the title of the direct heir to the French throne; the eldest son of the king of France

Origin of dauphin

1
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