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

Every Saturday at 1 p.m., museum docents will lead visitors on a tour through the museum's exhibits that will focus on the Indigenous foods of North America. —Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2024

Hike with docents at the Valley View Preserve near Ojai Docents from the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy will host a 2.5-mile, moderately strenuous hike at 8:30 a.m. Sunday through the Valley View Preserve. —Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2024

The vaults are considered hallowed ground: Native visitors often pray upon entering, Jim Regnier, a volunteer docent, told me. —Lia Picard, Travel + Leisure, 16 Oct. 2024

The student docents become part of the Anne Frank Youth Network. —Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register, 10 Oct. 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