Dechant

Meaning

dean (kind of church official)

Concepts

dean

Synonyms

Dekan

Translations

decaan

deken

deán

Pronounced as (IPA)

/deˈçant/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle High German: dechant

Inherited from Old High German: tehhant

Cognate with Middle Low German: dēken

In summary

From Middle High German dechant, techant, from Old High German tehhant, tehhan, from Proto-West Germanic *dekan (“deacon”), from Latin decanus (“dean”). Doublet of Dekan, a 15th-century borrowing.
In Middle Low German dēken, the full vowel in the second syllable was protected by adaptation to various Latin suffixes. The initial d- was also restored by relatinisation; compare already Old High German degan (possibly from spoken Romance).