doyenne

American

[doi-en, dwa-yen] / dɔɪˈɛn, dwaˈyɛn /

noun

plural

doyennes

a woman who is the senior member, as in age or rank, of a group, class, profession, etc.

Gender

See -enne.

Etymology

Origin of doyenne

1900–05; < French, feminine of doyen doyen

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.

Many of them were barely in school when the doyenne of Paris fashion took over menswear at Hermes in 1988 with instructions from then company boss Jean-Louis Dumas to run it "like your small company".

From Barron's • Jan. 24, 2026

I’m not a hate-watcher of the show or its star — I, too, wish to moonlight as a domestic doyenne.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025

Surely some people will recoil at my likening Meghan’s efforts to those of Queen Martha, doyenne of gracious living and doing everything yourself.

From Salon • Aug. 27, 2025

Dubbed "the doyenne of dinosaur discovery," Lowery has found hundreds of bones and more than 100 dinosaur footprints.

From Science Daily • Nov. 16, 2023

He picked a fight with the grande doyenne of the Melbourne underground.

From Underground by Dreyfus, Suelette

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023