duce

[ doo-chey; Italian doo-che ]

/ ˈdu tʃeɪ; Italian ˈdu tʃɛ /

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noun, plural du·ces, du·ci

[doo-chee]. /ˈdu tʃi/.

a leader or dictator.

il Duce

[eel -doo-chey; Italian eel -doo-che]. /il ˈdu tʃeɪ; Italian il ˈdu tʃɛ/. the leader: applied especially to Benito Mussolini as head of the fascist Italian state.

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Origin of duce

First recorded in 1920–25; from Italian, from Medieval Latin dux (genitive ducis ), Latin: “leader”; cf. duke, dux

Words nearby duce

ducally, Ducasse, ducat, ducatoon, Duccio di Buoninsegna, duce, du Cerceau, duces tecum, Du Chaillu, Duchamp, Duchamp-Villon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use duce in a sentence

Banners with “Muslims go home” and “Long Live Il Duce,” in a reference to Benito Mussolini, lie crumpled along the streets.
In Rome’s Riots, Cries for Mussolini and Attacks on Refugees|Barbie Latza Nadeau|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With the muscular charisma of a Caesar, “Il Duce” appealed to a fractured country with a weak economy.
How the Catholic Church Got in Bed with Mussolini|Jason Berry|February 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Quin dir Eumenides monstraque Tartari His longe duce te finibus exulant.
Lives of the most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects|Giorgio Vasari
Conspectus Crustaceorum in orbis terrarum circumnavigatione, C. Wilkes duce, collectorum.
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II|Charles Darwin

At another time, the discourse running upon politics, a mercer (no small man, I can assure you) wonderd what a duce we would have.
Rowlandson's Oxford|A. Hamilton Gibbs
Syphax amicitiam Romanorum se accipere adnuit, sed fidem nec dare nec accipere, nisi cum ipso coram duce Romano, voluit.
Selections from Viri Romae|Charles Franois L'Homond
Rmnrum s accipere adnuit, sed fidem nec dare nec accipere, nisi cum ips cram duce Rmn, voluit.95 Scpi igitur in fricam tricit.
Selections from Viri Romae|Charles Franois L'Homond

British Dictionary definitions for duce (1 of 2)

duce

/ (ˈduːtʃɪ, Italian ˈduːtʃe) /

noun

leader

Word Origin for duce

C20: from Italian, from Latin dux

British Dictionary definitions for duce (2 of 2)

Duce

/ (Italian ˈduːtʃe) /

noun

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

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