n. 1. Don (also dōn) Used as a courtesy title before the name of a man in a Spanish-speaking area. 2. Chiefly British a. A head, tutor, or fellow at a college of Oxford or Cambridge. b. A college or university professor. 3. The leader of an organized-crime family. 4. Archaic An important personage. [Spanish dialectal and Italian, both from Latin dominus, lord; see dem- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.







