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Dan¹

(dăn)

In the Bible, a son of Jacob and the forebear of one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan²

(dăn)

n.
Archaic

Used formerly as a title of honor for respected men, such as clerics and poets.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin Domnus, from Latin dominus, master, lord; see dem- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Dan.

abbr.

Bible Daniel

dan also Dan

(dän, dăn)

a. Any of the levels of proficiency at the grade of black belt in martial arts such as judo and karate.

b. One who has achieved such a level.

2. An expert or expert level in shogi and certain other games.

[Japanese dan, stair, grade, dan, from Early Middle Chinese duan^h, section; also the source of Mandarin duàn.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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