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duce

[doo-chey; Italian doo-che]
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noun, plural du·ces, du·ci [doo-chee] /ˈdu tʃi/.
  1. a leader or dictator.
  2. il Duce, the leader: applied especially to Benito Mussolini as head of the fascist Italian state.

Origin of duce

1920–25; < Italian < Medieval Latin dux (genitive ducis), Latin: leader; cf. duke, dux

dux

[duhks, doo ks]
noun, plural du·ces [doo-seez, dyoo-, doo-keys] /ˈdu siz, ˈdyu-, ˈdu keɪs/, dux·es [duhk-siz, doo k-] /ˈdʌk sɪz, ˈdʊk-/.
  1. British. the pupil who is academically first in a class or school.
  2. (in the later Roman Empire) a military chief commanding the troops in a frontier province.

Origin of dux

1800–10; < Latin: literally, leader, noun derivative from base of dūcere to lead
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for duces

Historical Examples

  • And, by the way, isn't there such a writ as a mandamus, or a duces tecum?

    The Paliser case

    Edgar Saltus

  • To do the duty of a duces tecum we have a diligence against havers.

    The Book-Hunter

    John Hill Burton

  • In the Bible the word dukes is used (Gen. xxxvi) for the duces of the Vulgate.

  • The two classes of officers of which we hear most were the counts (Latin, comites) and the dukes (Latin, duces).

  • Duces autem contrarii excercitus, sese densis agminibus et consertis aciebus, uiolenter opponunt aduentantibus.

    Beowulf

    R. W. Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for duces

duce

noun
  1. leader

Word Origin

C20: from Italian, from Latin dux

Duce

noun
  1. Il Duce (il) the title assumed by Benito Mussolini as leader of Fascist Italy (1922–43)

dux

noun
  1. (in Scottish and certain other schools) the top pupil in a class or school

Word Origin

Latin: leader
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for duces

Duce

n.

1923, title assumed by Benito Mussolini (1883-1945); Italian, literally "leader," from Latin ducem (see duke (n.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper