duchess

[duhch-is]

See more synonyms for duchess on Thesaurus.com

noun

the wife or widow of a duke.
a woman who holds in her own right the sovereignty or titles of a duchy.

Origin of duchess

1300–50; Middle English duchesse < Anglo-French, Old French, feminine derivative of duc duke; see -ess

Related formsduch·ess·like, adjective

Usage note

See -ess.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for duchess

aristocrat, king, monarch, emperor, czar, sultan, shah, girl, queen, adult, female, count, patrician, gentleman, royalty, peer, lord, lady, prince, empress

Examples from the Web for duchess

Contemporary Examples of duchess

He called her The Duchess, and if The Duchess didn't like something, then it was of no value.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
The Barclays Center where the Duke and Duchess will be seated would have stood in thick of where the pivotal action transpired.
The British Royals Reinvade Brooklyn: William and Kate Come Watch Basketball on Historic Battle Site
Justin Jones
December 6, 2014
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Diez said he married the duchess for love, not money.
Adiós to the Diva Duchess
Barbie Latza Nadeau
November 20, 2014
As a wedding gift, the duchess installed a cinema screen in her Duenas Palace for her younger husband.
Adiós to the Diva Duchess
Barbie Latza Nadeau
November 20, 2014
A flamboyant, multi-titled, multiply married royal to remember, the Duchess of Alba died Thursday at the age of 88.
Adiós to the Diva Duchess
Barbie Latza Nadeau
November 20, 2014

Historical Examples of duchess

His aunt, the Duchess of Savoy, is a merry dame, and a wise!
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge
Then of course you would have no objection to my visiting a duchess in the small-pox?
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
Pray, are you at all acquainted, Mrs. Wynne, with the Duchess of A——?
Tales And Novels, Volume 5 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
I could introduce you to a duchess, but then the fee is high.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
It is very fine to be a Freeland woman--but, believe me, it is much finer to be a duchess.
Freeland
Theodor Hertzka

British Dictionary definitions for duchess

duchess

noun

the wife or widow of a duke
a woman who holds the rank of duke in her own right

verb (tr)

Australian informal to overwhelm with flattering attention

Word Origin for duchess

C14: from Old French duchesse, feminine of duc duke

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 duchess

c.1300, from Old French duchesse, from Late Latin or Medieval Latin ducissa, fem. of dux (see duke (n.)). Often spelled dutchess until early 19c. (e.g. Dutchess County, New York, U.S.).