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duke

[dook, dyook]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR duke ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

(in Continental Europe) the male ruler of a duchy; the sovereign of a small state.

a British nobleman holding the highest hereditary title outside the royal family, ranking immediately below a prince and above a marquis; a member of the highest rank of the British peerage.

a nobleman of corresponding rank in certain other countries.

a cultivated hybrid of the sweet and sour cherry.

dukes, Slang. fists; hands: Put up your dukes.

verb (used with object), duked, duk·ing.

Slang. to hit or thrash with the fists (sometimes followed by out): He duked me because he said I had insulted him. The bully said he was going to duke out anyone who disagreed.

Idioms

duke it out, to fight, especially with the fists; do battle: The adversaries were prepared to duke it out in the alley.

Origin of duke

1100–50; Middle English duke, duc, late Old English duc < Old French duc, dus, dux < Medieval Latin dux hereditary ruler of a small state, Latin: leader; see dux; dukes “fists” of unclear derivation and perhaps of distinct orig.

Duke

[dook, dyook]

noun

Benjamin Newton,1855–1929, and his brother, James Buchanan, 1856–1925, U.S. industrialists.

a male given name.

Wayne

[weyn]

noun

AnthonyMad Anthony, 1745–96, American Revolutionary War general.

JohnMarion Michael MorrisonDuke, 1907–79, U.S. film actor.

a township in N New Jersey.

a city in SE Michigan, near Detroit.

a male given name: from an Old English word meaning “wagonmaker.”

Ellington

[el-ing-tuh n]

noun

Edward KennedyDuke, 1899–1974, U.S. jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for duke

aristocrat, king, monarch, emperor, czar, sultan, shah, patrician, slug, count, gentleman, royalty, peer, lord, lady, prince, empress, archduchess, archduke, countess

Examples from the Web for duke

Contemporary Examples of duke

Duke was a state representative whose neo-Nazi alliances were disgorged in media reports during his run for governor in 1991.
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence
Jason Berry
January 7, 2015
Scalise never would have spoken to EURO had Duke been there in person.
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence
Jason Berry
January 7, 2015
But after winning 55 percent of the white vote, Duke had a database of supporters some politicians coveted.
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence
Jason Berry
January 7, 2015
The “doctorate” Duke claims is from an anti-Semitic Ukranian “diploma mill” as described by the State Department.
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence
Jason Berry
January 7, 2015
“I did not contribute to him, he did not contribute to me,” Duke said.
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence
Jason Berry
January 7, 2015

Historical Examples of duke

The Duke wanted a capable candidate to help him regain his ascendency.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
He came recommended by no claim in the world except the will of the Duke.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
Shakespeare was almost as well content, it appears, to play the lover as to play the Duke.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
Not only the Duke, but both the heroines, Viola and Olivia, love music.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
The tidings reached the Duke, at his hunting-lodge of Valognes.
Cameos from English History, from Rollo to Edward II
Charlotte Mary Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for duke

duke

noun

a nobleman of high rank: in the British Isles standing above the other grades of the nobility

the prince or ruler of a small principality or duchy

Related formsRelated adjective: ducal

Word Origin for duke

C12: from Old French duc, from Latin dux leader

Ellington

noun

Duke, nickname of Edward Kennedy Ellington. 1899–1974, US jazz composer, pianist, and conductor, famous for such works as "Mood Indigo" and "Creole Love Call"

Wayne

noun

John, real name Marion Michael Morrison. 1907–79, US film actor, noted esp for his many Westerns, which include Stagecoach (1939), The Alamo (1960), and True Grit (1969), for which he won an Oscar

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 duke

n.

early 12c., "sovereign prince," from Old French duc (12c.) and directly from Latin dux (genitive ducis) "leader, commander," in Late Latin "governor of a province," from ducere "to lead," from PIE *deuk- "to lead" (cf. Old English togian "to pull, drag," Old High German ziohan "to pull," Old English togian "to draw, drag," Middle Welsh dygaf "I draw").

Applied in English to "nobleman of the highest rank" probably first mid-14c., ousting native earl. Also used to translate various European titles (e.g. Russian knyaz).

Wayne

surname, by 1319, variant of Wain, representing wainwright, wainer (see wain) or perhaps "one who dwells by the tavern with the sign of the wain."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper