docent

From Latin docēns, present participle of doceō (“to teach”). In the meaning of a university grade, as used in some Central European countries, it is clipped version of private docent, privat-docent, from German Privatdozent, from German Dozent.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdəʊ.sənt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdoʊ.sənt/

docent (comparative more docent, superlative most docent)

1. Instructive; that teaches.

docent (plural docents)

1. A teacher or lecturer at some universities (in central Europe, etc.)
   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 1212:

     Zermelo had been a docent at Göttingen when Kit was there and, like Russell, had been preoccupied with the set of all sets that are not members of themselves.

2. (chiefly US) A tour guide at a museum, art gallery, historical site, etc.

   The docent greeted the visitors and welcomed them to the Smithsonian.

   • 2020, Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half, Dialogue Books, page 149:

     She was listening distractedly as an elderly docent intoned to a circle of listless children.

Borrowed from Latin docentem.

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

docent m or f (masculine and feminine plural docents)

1. teaching

docent m or f by sense (plural docents)

1. lecturer

• docència

• “docent”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “docent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “docent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “docent”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Borrowed from Latin docentem.

• IPA^(key): [ˈdot͡sɛnt]

docent m anim (female equivalent docentka, diminutive docentík or docentíček)

1. lecturer

• “docent”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “docent”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “docent”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

docent c (singular definite docenten, plural indefinite docenter)

1. reader

From Latin docēns, present participle of doceō (“to teach”).

• IPA^(key): /doːˈsɛnt/, (Netherlands) [doʊ̯ˈsɛnt], (Belgium) [doːˈsɛnt]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: do‧cent
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

docent m (plural docenten, diminutive docentje n, feminine docente)

1. teacher, docent

   Synonyms: leraar, leerkracht, onderwijzer

• leraar
• leerkracht
• onderwijzer

• Afrikaans: dosent
• → Indonesian: dosen

docent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of doceō

From Latin docēns, likely through German Dozent.

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɔ.t͡sɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔt͡sɛnt
• Syllabification: do‧cent

docent m pers

1. docent, lecturer (teacher at a university)

• “docent”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[1] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “docent”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[2] (in Polish)

Borrowed from German Dozent.

docent m (plural docenți)

1. lecturer

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

docent c

1. a docent, a university teacher who holds a PhD degree, an associate professor

• “docent”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “docent”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “docent”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)