duce
[doo-chey; Italian doo-che]
- a leader or dictator.
- il Duce, the leader: applied especially to Benito Mussolini as head of the fascist Italian state.
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Origin of duce
il Duce
[eel doo-chey; Italian eel doo-che]
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for duce
Contemporary Examples
Banners with “Muslims go home” and “Long Live Il Duce,” in a reference to Benito Mussolini, lie crumpled along the streets.
Historical Examples
Be pure to be strong,' Il Duce has taught our people this wonderful lesson.
Little Tony of ItalyMadeline Brandeis
Who th' duce does ta think can be bilious in a country like this?
Seets I' ParisJohn Hartley
I was going to 'duce 'Ilip to the Tommodore and 'Ilip was going to 'duce me.
Toots and his FriendsKate Tannatt Woods
The other face bears the lines of Juvenal: 'Expende—quot libras in duce summo (p. 031) invenies?
Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Volume V (of 10)John Gibson Lockhart
The day the debate in the Lords ended, that in the Commons began on the same question, duce Cobden.
The Greville Memoirs (Third Part) Volume II (of II)Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville
duce
- leader
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Word Origin
C20: from Italian, from Latin dux
Duce
- Il Duce (il) the title assumed by Benito Mussolini as leader of Fascist Italy (1922–43)
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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 duce
Duce
n.
1923, title assumed by Benito Mussolini (1883-1945); Italian, literally "leader," from Latin ducem (see duke (n.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper