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dauphin

American  
[daw-fin, doh-fan] / ˈdɔ fɪn, doʊˈfɛ̃ /

noun

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


dauphin British  
/ dɔːˈfɪn, ˈdɔːfɪn, dofɛ̃ /

noun

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

"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

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:

As Bedford conceded, her victories in 1429 on behalf of the dauphin, which finally enabled his coronation, fractured English morale.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 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

She was already in her 50s, but I remember thinking that she seemed like a little dauphin prince, dwarfed by the gilt grandeur of her private apartment.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 14, 2017

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

Rescued by the dauphin Charles, he was appointed chancellor of France on the 3rd of February 1422.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 3 "Gordon, Lord George" to "Grasses" by Various

They are brought up like young dauphins, and tossed into the costly whirl to float as best they can—on nothing.

From Wisdom, Wit, and Pathos of Ouida Selected from the Works of Ouida by Ouida

Abbé Edgeworth suggests that France is well supplied with dauphins also.

From Lazarre by Mary Hartwell Catherwood

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

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

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

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