duchess
Americannoun
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duchesses
plural
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the wife or widow of a duke.
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a woman who holds in her own right the sovereignty or titles of a duchy.
noun
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the wife or widow of a duke
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a woman who holds the rank of duke in her own right
verb
Gender
See -ess.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of duchess
1300–50; Middle English duchesse < Anglo-French, Old French, feminine derivative of duc duke; see -ess
Explanation
A duchess is a female member of a royal or noble family. If a woman marries a duke, she becomes a duchess. Many duchesses inherit their title when they're born — there are still hereditary dukes and duchesses in the U.K., for example. In other cases, a woman marries into a noble family and finds herself with the title. The word duchess comes from the feminine form of the Latin dux, "leader or commander."
Vocabulary lists containing duchess
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"The charitable work of the duke and duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity. In short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests."
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
They were allowed to keep their duke and duchess of Sussex titles, but lost other monarchy privileges.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
The duchess put her acting career on hold after her marriage to Prince Harry.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Meghan did not make any public appearances, amid a row over security, but the duke and duchess and their two children held a private meeting with King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Chris, she confesses, used to poke fun at her capitalist zeal by calling her the duchess of York, Ivana Trump McCandless, and "a rising successor to Leona Helmsley."
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
"From valets to duchesses, from three-piece suits to the Roaring Twenties, there is something for every taste," it boasts on its website.
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
“Snobbery has gone out of fashion, and in our shops you will find duchesses jostling with typists to buy the same dress,” Quant once said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2023
Black duchesses, Black princes, white ladies, all falling in love with whomever.
From New York Times ● Oct. 4, 2022
Much newspaper acreage has already been devoted to comparing the duchesses who at face value appear to have so much in common.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 9, 2020
But they held themselves erect and walked with a gait duchesses might have envied.
From By Veldt and Kopje by W. C. (William Charles) Scully
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
