dauphin of France
- noun
- /ˈdoʊfɪn əv fræns/
- Literature
:
delfín de Francia
- In the 15th century, the dauphin of France was crowned to symbolize his role as the future king.
Examples
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The young dauphin of France was raised in the palace, preparing for his future responsibilities.
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May I present the dauphin of France.
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The dauphin of France.
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Historically, the dauphin of France held significant power and influence in shaping French politics.
Synonyms
1
9.9
Eldest son of a French king who was next in line for the throne before the French Revolution
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'dauphin' denotes the heir/apparent son destined to inherit and 'of France' specifies the country, so a learner who knows both constituents can readily infer it refers to the heir to the French throne. This is a literal title construction common cross-linguistically and therefore immediately comprehensible.
Etymology
Dauphin of France comes from the old word dauphin, which literally means dolphin and was the animal on a local ruler's shield in a region called the Dauphiné. When that land joined France, the king decided his future king should use the title, so dauphin of France came to mean the 'heir to the throne'.