Deanships

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A position or term of office held by a dean in an academic institution
2. the collective administrative responsibilities and duties associated with that role
3. a title denoting the leadership of a specific faculty or division within a university or college

Etymology: "Deanship" is simply "dean" plus the suffix "-ship," which in Old English formed nouns for a state, office, or condition, as in "friendship" or "lordship." "Dean" itself came into English from Old English "dēan," borrowed from Late Latin "decanus," meaning an official who supervised a group of ten, from Latin "decem," ten. Early uses in the Church referred to a monk or cleric placed over ten others, and the sense of an academic head later developed from ecclesiastical and university usage. The plural "deanships" simply means several such offices or terms of office, for example the separate deanships held by different faculty members across a large institution. It is the plural of "deanship," so it follows the same origin as the singular.

Synonyms: administration, leadership, management