archduke

[ahrch-dook, -dyook]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR archduke ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a title of the sovereign princes of the former ruling house of Austria.

Origin of archduke

1520–30; earlier archeduke < French archeduc (now archiduc). See arch-¹, duke

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for archduke

aristocrat, patrician, emperor, count, gentleman, royalty, peer, lord, lady, prince, empress, duke, archduchess, archduke, countess, gentlewoman, princess, duchess, noble, baron

Examples from the Web for archduke

Contemporary Examples of archduke

A century ago today, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary embarked on his fatal journey to Sarajevo.
Wounds of World War I Have Yet to Heal
Michael F. Bishop
June 28, 2014
I was born in Brooklyn on June 28, 1926, the 12th anniversary of the blowing up of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria.
Mel Brooks Is Always Funny and Often Wise in This 1975 Playboy Interview
Alex Belth
February 16, 2014
They knew the Bosnians had targeted the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand.
The Middle East’s Murder Messages
Christopher Dickey
January 5, 2014
So the bullet that Gavrilo Princip fired at old Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo (a redolent place-name) goes on echoing.
Lessons from Another War
Christopher Buckley
November 12, 2009

Historical Examples of archduke

The entry of the Archduke was not less sad than his proclamation.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete
Duc de Saint-Simon
She had scarcely left the apartment when the Archduke entered it.
The Daltons, Volume II (of II)
Charles James Lever
On the wings are the portraits of the Archduke and Isabella, with their patron saints.
Six Centuries of Painting
Randall Davies
They had come as messengers from the Archduke Ferdinand and from the Emperor himself.
History of the Moravian Church
J. E. Hutton
The Premier was expected, and there was murmur of an Archduke.
The Young Duke
Benjamin Disraeli

British Dictionary definitions for archduke

archduke

noun

a chief duke, esp (since 1453) a prince of the Austrian imperial dynasty

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 archduke

1520s, from Middle French and Old French archeduc, from Merovingian Latin archiducem (c.750); see arch- + duke (n.). Formerly the title of the rulers of Austrasia, Lorraine, Brabant, and Austria; later the titular dignity of the sons of the Emperor of Austria. Related: Archducal; archduchy.