dean

/diːn/noun

A senior official in certain churches, ranking below a bishop and heading a group of canons.

Example sentence

“The dean led the morning service at the cathedral.”

The campus sense is more familiar: a dean heads a faculty or oversees students. Both offices descend from the Latin 'decanus'.

Related words

undergraduateA university student who is still working toward their first degree.facultyThe teachers and researchers of a school, college, or university, as distinct from its students and support workers.postgraduateRelating to study undertaken after finishing a first university degree.headmistressA woman who is in charge of a school.freshmanA student of either sex in the first year of high school or university, or a new member of a legislature.headmasterA man who is in charge of a school.