dauphin Hear it!

dauphin definition

dau·phin (fin, dō-; Fr dō fan)

noun

the eldest son of the king of France: a title used from 1349 to 1830

Etymology: Fr, lit., dolphin: used as a proper name by the counts of Vienne, and hence as a title by the oldest son of the king after the province of Dauphiné was ceded to the crown

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.