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dauphin

 
Dictionary: dau·phin   (dô'fĭn) pronunciation
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n.
  1. The eldest son of the king of France from 1349 to 1830.
  2. Used as a title for such a nobleman.

[Middle English, from Old French, title of the lords of Dauphiné, from Dalphin, Dalfin, a surname, from dalfin, dolphin (from the device on the family's coat of arms). See dolphin.]


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Wordsmith Words: dauphin
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(DOW-fin)

noun
1. The eldest son of the king of France from 1349 to 1830.
2. Used as a title for such a nobleman.

Etymology
Middle English, from Old French, title of the lords of Dauphine, from Dalphin, Dalfin, a surname, from dalfin, dolphin (from the device on the family's coat of arms).

Usage
"But the dauphin should not forget that a successful reign requires a strong successor--and not a mere imitator." — The difficulty of being a dauphin, Economist, Sep 4, 1999.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: dauphin
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Title of the eldest son of a king of France, the heir apparent to the French crown, from 1350 to 1830. Derived from a personal name, dauphin was originally used as a title in the 12th century by French counts in Auvergne and Vienne. The title came to the French crown through the purchase of lands known as the Dauphiné in 1349 by Philip VI, who bestowed it on his grandson, the future Charles V. Dauphin came to designate the heir apparent during the reign of Charles V, who gave his son, Charles VI, the title and the Dauphiné.

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Columbia Encyclopedia: dauphin
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dauphin (dô'fĭn, Fr. dōfăN') [Fr.,=dolphin], French title, borne first by the counts of Vienne (also called Viennois) and later by the eldest son of the king of France, or, if the dauphin came to die before the king, by the dauphin's eldest son. The origin of the title is rather obscure; it probably was the family name of the counts of Vienne, who adopted the dolphin as their heraldic device (12th cent.). Their territory came to be called the dauphiné, or dauphinate, of Vienne, or simply the Dauphiné. Another dauphinate, that of Auvergne, ruled by a branch of the house of Vienne, came into existence when Auvergne broke up in the 12th cent. The title dauphin passed, with the Dauphiné, to the direct heirs of the French kings when (1349) Dauphin Humbert II of Vienne sold the region to King Philip VI of France. When Philip died (1350) his grandson, later King Charles V, became the first heir to the throne to bear the title. After Louis XI the title was merely honorific. Louis Antoine, duc d'Angoulême (1775-1844), son of King Charles X, was the last dauphin. Louis, eldest son of Louis XIV, was known as the Great Dauphin; he was a competent military leader. Louis XVII is known as the Lost Dauphin.

Translations: Dauphin
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - ældste søn af kongen af Frankrig

Nederlands (Dutch)
dauphin (Franse kroonprins)

Français (French)
n. - prince héritier, (Hist) Dauphin

Deutsch (German)
n. - Kronprinz

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ιστ., μτφ.) δελφίνος

Italiano (Italian)
delfino

Português (Portuguese)
n. - delfim (m)

Русский (Russian)
дофин

Español (Spanish)
n. - delfín, príncipe heredero

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - dauphin (fransk kronprins)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
法国皇太子

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 法國皇太子

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 프랑스 황태자의 칭호(1349-1830년 왕조시대의)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 王太子

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الإبن البكر لملك فرنسا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮יורש-עצר (צרפתי)‬

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wordsmith Words. © 2009 Wordsmith.org. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more