Dean
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
In ecclesiastical law
An ecclesiastical offlcer, who derives his name from the fact that he presides over ten canons, or prebendaries, at least. There are several kinds of deans, namely, deans of chapters; deans of peculiars; rural deans; deans in the colleges; honorary deans; deans of provinces.