Decans

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Any of the thirty-six ten-degree sections of the zodiac used in astrology ; a monastic official who supervises a group of ten monks
2. One of the thirty-six equal segments of the zodiac, each spanning ten degrees ; an officer in some monasteries who oversees ten members of the community
3. A ten-degree portion of the zodiac employed in astrological charts ; a religious superior charged with supervising a band of ten monks

Etymology: "Decans" is the plural of "decan," a term from astrology and astronomy for a division of the zodiac. The word comes from Late Latin "decānus," which was a military and monastic title meaning a leader of ten, since "decem" is Latin for ten. In Roman military usage, a decanus commanded a squad of ten soldiers, and the same idea of a group of ten passed into the religious life of later Christian communities, where a decanus oversaw a small group of monks. The astrological sense rests on the same arithmetic. The zodiac's 360 degrees were divided into thirty-six segments of ten degrees each, so each division held ten degrees of the sky. Because the word was formed from Latin roots meaning "of ten," the astronomical use follows the old military and monastic sense closely, with the numbering rather than the people being the point.