English Explanatory Dictionary

duke

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The male ruler of a duchy (female equivalent: duchess).
  2. The sovereign of a small state.
  3. A high title of nobility; the male holder of a dukedom.
  4. A grand duke.
  5. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genera Bassarona and Dophla.
  6. A fist.
verb
  1. To hit or beat with the fists.
  2. To give cash to; to give a tip to.
  3. To perform the duties of, or rule over as, a duke.
noun
  1. The title of a duke.
name
  1. A male given name from English; mostly US and rather rare.
  2. A surname originating as an occupation for service in the household of a duke, or from a nickname.
  3. A male nickname.
  4. The American actor John Wayne.
  5. Ellipsis of Duke University, a private university in Durham, North Carolina, USA.
  6. A place name:
  7. An unincorporated community in Phelps County, Missouri, United States.
  8. A township in Harnett County, North Carolina, United States.

Pronunciation

/dʒuːk/ /djuːk/ /duːk/ en-uk-duke.ogg en-us-duke.ogg

Word forms

duke dukes duking duked

Etymology

From Old French duc, through Middle English duk, duke, from Latin dux, ducis. Displaced native Old English heretoga. Was present as duc in late Old English, from the same Latin source. Doublet of doge, duc, duce, and dux. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk-, which is also the source of the second component in German Herzog. The “fist” sense is thought to be Cockney rhyming slang where “Duke(s) of York” = fork. Fork is itself Cockney slang for hand, and thus fist.

Synonyms

tip

Related words

ducal duchess duchy grand duchy

Derived words

archduke beduke Duke blue duke cherry Duke City dukedom dukeling dukely Duke of Norfolk's Island Duke of York's Island dukery Dukes County dukeship dukicide grand duke grand dukedom put up one's dukes unduke duke it out duke in duke it duke out duke up
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on D Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary