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duke

[dook, dyook] /duk, dyuk/
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noun
1.
(in Continental Europe) the male ruler of a duchy; the sovereign of a small state.
2.
a British nobleman holding the highest hereditary title outside the royal family, ranking immediately below a prince and above a marquis; a member of the highest rank of the British peerage.
3.
a nobleman of corresponding rank in certain other countries.
4.
a cultivated hybrid of the sweet and sour cherry.
5.
dukes, Slang. fists; hands:
Put up your dukes.
verb (used with object), duked, duking.
6.
Slang. to hit or thrash with the fists (sometimes followed by out):
He duked me because he said I had insulted him. The bully said he was going to duke out anyone who disagreed.
Idioms
7.
duke it out, to fight, especially with the fists; do battle:
The adversaries were prepared to duke it out in the alley.
Origin of duke
Middle English
Old French
Medieval Latin
late Old English
1100-1150
1100-50; Middle English duke, duc, late Old English duc < Old French duc, dus, dux < Medieval Latin dux hereditary ruler of a small state, Latin: leader; see dux; dukes “fists” of unclear derivation and perhaps of distinct orig.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018.
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British Dictionary definitions for duking

duke

/djuːk/
noun
1.
a nobleman of high rank: in the British Isles standing above the other grades of the nobility
2.
the prince or ruler of a small principality or duchy
related
adjective ducal
Word Origin
C12: from Old French duc, from Latin dux 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
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Word Origin and History for duking

duke

n.

early 12c., "sovereign prince," from Old French duc (12c.) and directly from Latin dux (genitive ducis) "leader, commander," in Late Latin "governor of a province," from ducere "to lead," from PIE *deuk- "to lead" (cf. Old English togian "to pull, drag," Old High German ziohan "to pull," Old English togian "to draw, drag," Middle Welsh dygaf "I draw").

Applied in English to "nobleman of the highest rank" probably first mid-14c., ousting native earl. Also used to translate various European titles (e.g. Russian knyaz).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang definitions & phrases for duking

duke

noun

  1. A hand, esp when regarded as a weapon (1874+)
  2. The winning decision in a boxing match, signaled by the referee's holding up the victor's hand: Even if I lose the duke I get forty percent (1930s+ Prizefight)

verb

  1. To hand something to someone: Duke the kid a five or ten (1940s+)
  2. To fight with the fists (1940s+)
  3. To try to collect money from a parent for something given to a child (1940s+ Circus)
  4. To short-change someone by palming a coin owed him (1940s+ Circus)
  5. To shake hands; press the flesh (1965+)
  6. To do the sex act with or to; boff, screw: She might even have duked one of the Hobart Street Fros sometime (1990s+ Street gang)

Related Terms

dukes

[perhaps fr Romany dook, ''the hand as read in palmistry, one's fate'']

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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