dĕcānus, i, m. [decem].
- I. A chief of ten, one set over ten persons (late Lat.).
- A. Over soldiers, Veg. Mil. 2, 8.
- B. Over monks, a dean, Hier. Ep. 22, no. 35.
- C. The chief of the corpse-bearers, Cod. Just. 1, 2, 4; 9.
- D. As a judge, Vulg. Exod. 18, 21; Deut. 1, 15.
- II. A kind of officer at the imperial court, Cod. 12, 27, 1.
- III. In astrology, the chief of ten parts of a zodiacal sign, Firm. Math. 2, 4.