duchess
Americannoun
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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
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Gender
See -ess.
Other Word Forms
- duchesslike adjective
Etymology
Origin of duchess
1300–50; Middle English duchesse < Anglo-French, Old French, feminine derivative of duc duke; -ess
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.
The car the duchess was in and a police back-up vehicle were part of the convoy.
From BBC
Ms Ferguson, who lost her duchess title when Andrew gave up his Duke of York title a few weeks ago, had, until recently, sidestepped the firing line of the controversy around Epstein.
From BBC
In 2011, the duchess said in a media interview that her involvement with Epstein had been a “gigantic error of judgment.”
His ex-wife has now lost her duchess title and will simply be known as Sarah Ferguson.
From BBC
She has worn a number of designs by the fashion house's new creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli and the visit reflected "her support for his new creative chapter", a spokesman for the duchess said.
From BBC
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.