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From 1350 to 1830, dauphin was the title given to the eldest son of a king of France, or the heir apparent to the French crown. The title was established by the royal house of France through the purchase of lands known as the Dauphiné in 1349 by the future Charles V.

The word dauphin is French for dolphin and was originally the hereditary title of the ruler of the Dauphiné of Viennois. While early heirs were granted these lands to rule, eventually only the title was granted. The wife of the Dauphin was known as la Dauphine.

Dauphin, title of the eldest son of a king of France, the heir apparent to the French crown, from 1350 to 1830. The title was established by the royal house of France through the purchase of lands known as the Dauphine in 1349 by the future Charles V.

DAUPHIN definition: the eldest son of a king of France, used as a title from 1349 to 1830. See examples of dauphin used in a sentence.

His elder brother, Louis Joseph, died at the age of seven from tuberculosis in June 1789, and Louis Charles became the “Dauphin”, the title accorded to the heir apparent of the throne of France.