duce

[ doo-chey; Italian doo-che ]

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.

Origin of duce

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use duce in a sentence

On saying this, ‘consedere duces,’ they squatted on their hams with the most perfect indifference.
Wanderings in South America | Charles Waterton
Duces autem contrarii excercitus, sese densis agminibus et consertis aciebus, uiolenter opponunt aduentantibus.
Beowulf | R. W. Chambers
Cum in Liternina villa se contineret, complures praedonum duces ad eum videndum forte confluxerunt.
Selections from Viri Romae | Charles Franois L'Homond
Tum vinctos adduci iussit Teutonum duces, qui in proelio capti erant.
Selections from Viri Romae | Charles Franois L'Homond
Nam duces, ubi impetrando triumphalium insigni sufficere res suas crediderant, hostam omittebant.
The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. VII. (of 12) | Edmund Burke

British Dictionary definitions for duce (1 of 2)

duce

/ (ˈduːtʃɪ, Italian ˈduːtʃe) /

noun

leader

Origin of 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

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