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grand duke

American  

noun

  1. the sovereign of a territory called a grand duchy, ranking next below a king.

  2. a son of a czar or of a czar's son.


grand duke British  

noun

  1. a prince or nobleman who rules a territory, state, or principality

  2. a son or a male descendant in the male line of a Russian tsar

  3. a medieval Russian prince who ruled over other princes

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of grand duke

First recorded in 1685–95

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:

Lucrezia was the fifth child of Cosimo de’ Medici, the grand duke of Tuscany, and his wife, Eleanor de’ Toledo.

From Seattle Times Sep. 30, 2022

Van Groenevelt sold Hansken’s body to the grand duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando II de’ Medici, who was interested in the natural sciences.

From New York Times Jul. 14, 2021

That she and Nicholas, then a grand duke, had an affair is little doubted by historians. 

From Washington Post Sep. 25, 2017

The grand duke mourns the absence of the wife who never loved him, and reveals to Zummo his secret commission: he wants the sculptor to make him a lifesize figure of a beautiful young woman.

From The Guardian Mar. 23, 2013

He had become the grand duke of Cold Sassy again.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

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