duty English · revision 3862

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1297|origins=la dēbeō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈdjuː.ti/, US /ˈduː.t̬i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|duete]] or dewte,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|xno|dueté|t=what is due]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from Old French [[m|fro|deü|t=due, owed]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) from [[la-vul|*dēbūtus]], from [[la|dēbitus]], past participle of [[m|la|dēbēre|t=to owe]],^(Etymonline) from [[m|la|dē-|t=away]] and [[m|la|habēre|t=to have]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[due]], [[debt]] and [[debit]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The conduct due to a superior, homage: 1297 in the OED,^(OED 1989) and the 13th century in Hoad and Merriam-Webster.^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) Barnhart dates dewete, moral or legal obligation, to probably 1383, in Wycliffe's writings.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Obligatory service, what one ought to do, is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) the OED dating moral or legal obligation to about 1385.^(OED 1989) A tax or fee owed to a government or guild is from probably 1377,^(Barnhart 1988) or the late 14th century in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and payment levied on imports and exports from 1474.^(OED 1989) The military sense, a required service, is from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) ''Duty-free'' is from the 1680s, and the ''duty-free'' shop by 1980.^(Etymonline) [[dutiful]] is from 1552 and [[duteous]] from 1593, in Shakespeare's ''Lucrece''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1297 – homage to a superior.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1377 – a tax or fee.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1385 – moral obligation.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1474 – customs duty.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1552 – ''dutiful''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1580s – military service.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1680s – ''duty-free''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A task or course of action required by one's position, custom, law or religion.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Moral [[obligation]], or the sense of it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A task assigned to one, especially in the armed forces: ''on duty''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A [[tax]] charged by a government, especially on imports.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The work done by a machine, or the use it is designed for: ''heavy-duty''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[duteous]]

+ * [[dutiable]]

+ * [[dutiful]]

+ * [[duty-free]]

+ * [[heavy-duty]]

+ * [[light-duty]]

+ * [[off-duty]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[due]]

+ * [[debt]]

+ * [[debit]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Suffolk ''my duty'' was an expression of respect to a superior.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}