docent

noun

do·​cent ˈdō-sᵊnt  dō(t)-ˈsent 

1

: a college or university teacher or lecturer

2

: a person who leads guided tours especially through a museum or art gallery

Did you know?

The title of docent is used in many countries for what Americans would call an associate professor—that is, a college or university teacher who has been given tenure but hasn't yet achieved the rank of full professor. But in the U.S. a docent is a guide who works at a museum, a historical site, or even a zoo or a park. Docents are usually volunteers, and their services are often free of charge.

Examples of docent in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Inside the entrance, volunteer docents offer pamphlets and welcoming smiles. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 1 Dec. 2024

Point Lobos alone has more than 200 docents, all of whom go through a months-long training course and commit to a minimum of six hours of service per month. —Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2024

Sally Merrell, a docent at Forest Home, often pointed out during visitor tours that some of the hills could be ancient Indigenous mounds. —Frank Vaisvilas, Journal Sentinel, 14 Nov. 2024

Holidays in History tour: On Saturdays in December (with the exception of Dec. 14), docents will lead a tour through the museum, exploring how European immigrants brought their holiday traditions to Milwaukee. —Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 25 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

obsolete German (now Dozent), from Latin docent-, docens, present participle of docēre — see docile

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1