don
Preserved but no longer current.
A clever fellow, the opposite of a muff; a person of distinction in his line or walk. At the English Universities, the Masters and Fellows are the DONS. DON is also used as an adjective, "a DON hand at a knife and fork," i.e., a first-rate feeder at a dinner-table.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “don” mean?
A clever fellow, the opposite of a muff; a person of distinction in his line or walk. At the English Universities, the Masters and Fellows are the DONS. DON is also used as an adjective, "a DON hand at a knife and fork," i.e., a first-rate feeder at a dinner-table.
Is “don” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.