dedans
Americannoun
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dedans
plural
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a netted winning opening of rectangular shape at the service side of the court.
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the body of spectators behind this opening at a court-tennis match.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dedans
1700–10; < French: (the) inside, Middle French (adv. and preposition), Old French dedenz, equivalent to de of (< Latin dē ) + denz in (< Late Latin deintus, equivalent to Latin dē- de- + intus inside (adv.))
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.
A single dynamic target, which the player serving the ball has to defend at all times, is called the dedans.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2018
The ball rocketed through the air toward Basto’s side of the court, right into the glowing dedans!
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2018
Instead, perhaps the Association should have questioned the probability of him hitting the dedans at that very moment, which was quite unlikely and might have raised concerns that someone had manipulated its movement intentionally.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2018
Courts are 110 ft. long, 38 ft. wide, with a net-covered recess behind the server's court called a dedans, in which the spectators sit.
From Time Magazine Archive
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It was used as a prison, as is shown by the verse of Regnier: "Qu'un barisel vous mit dedans la tour de Nonne."
From Walks in Rome by Augustus J. C. Hare
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.