Log in or Sign up

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. Used as a courtesy title before the name of a man in a Spanish-speaking area.
  2. n. Chiefly British A head, tutor, or fellow at a college of Oxford or Cambridge.
  3. n. Chiefly British A college or university professor.
  4. n. The leader of an organized-crime family.
  5. n. Archaic An important personage.
  6. v. To put on (clothing).
  7. v. To assume or take on: donned the air of the injured party.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. To put on; invest with.
  2. n. [capitalized] A title in Spain and Italy prefixed to a man's Christian name, like Sir in Great Britain. Formerly, in Spain, it was confined to men of high rank, but is now applied to all persons of the better classes, and is a mere title of courtesy.
  3. n. A gentleman; a man bearing the title of or addressed as “Don.”
  4. n. Any person of high importance or leading position: applied ironically to one giving himself airs of importance.
  5. n. In Great Britain, a fellow of a college, or any college authority.
  6. n. In sea-fishing, a buoy used to mark a fishing-ground.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A university professor, particularly one at Oxford or Cambridge.
  2. n. A mafia boss.
  3. v. To put on (clothes).

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. Sir; Mr; Signior; -- a title in Spain, formerly given to noblemen and gentlemen only, but now common to all classes.
  2. n. A grand personage, or one making pretension to consequence; especially, the head of a college, or one of the fellows at the English universities.
  3. v. To put on; to dress in; to invest one's self with.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. Celtic goddess; mother of Gwydion and Arianrhod; corresponds to Irish Danu
  2. n. a Spanish courtesy title or form of address for men that is prefixed to the forename
  3. n. a Spanish gentleman or nobleman
  4. n. a European river in southwestern Russia; flows into the Sea of Azov
  5. n. the head of an organized crime family
  6. v. put clothing on one's body
  7. n. teacher at a university or college (especially at Cambridge or Oxford)

Etymologies

  1. Spanish dialectal and Italian, both from Latin dominus, lord; see dem- in Indo-European roots.Middle English, contraction of do on, to put on; see do1.

Examples

Show 10 more examples...

Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘don’.

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • stpeter A contraction of "do on". Contrast with doff. Jan 5, 2007

‘don’ has been looked up 2668 times, loved by 2 people, added to 34 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 4.