Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

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

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The distinctive title (originally Dauphin of Viennois) of the eldest son of the king of France, from 1349 till the revolution of 1830.
  • noun A billon coin struck, under Charles VII. of France, for Dauphiné.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The title of the eldest son of the king of France, and heir to the crown. Since the revolution of 1830, the title has been discontinued.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The eldest son of the king of France. Under the Valois and Bourbon dynasties, the Dauphin of France, generally shortened to Dauphin, was heir apparent to the throne of France. The title derived from the main title of the Dauphin, Dauphin of Viennois.
  • noun : An eldest son.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun formerly, the eldest son of the King of France and direct heir to the throne

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[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.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French dauphin, from Old French dalphin, from Latin delphinus.

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Examples

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  • what about a dolphin?

    June 27, 2007