doyen
/ˈdɔɪ.ən/
"doyen" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“doyen” is an uncommon English word, ranked #70,615 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #70,615
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A commander in charge of ten men.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | doyen |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɔɪ.ən/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #70,615 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “doyen” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for doyen is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɔɪ.ən/. Corpus data places it at rank #70,615 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
doyen has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French doyen, from Late Latin decānus, from Latin decem. Compare the doublet dean. The correct English form is doyen, spelled D-O-Y-E-N.
Definition
- 1A commander in charge of ten men.
- 2The senior, or eldest male member of a group.
- 3A leading light, or exemplar of a particular practice or movement.
Etymology
Borrowed from French doyen, from Late Latin decānus, from Latin decem. Compare the doublet dean.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “doyen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-O-Y-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɔɪ.ən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.