duke English · revision 5123

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1066|origins=la dux}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /dʒuːk/, /djuːk/, US /duːk/, /djuːk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|duc|alt=duc, duke]], [[bor|fro|duc]] and directly from [[la|dux|t=leader, commander]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) genitive ducis, from dūcere “to lead”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*dewk-|alt=*deuk-|t=to lead]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[duct]], [[doge]], a doublet, and the second part of German Herzog “duke”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A sovereign prince, the ruler of a duchy: 1066 in the OED, 1129 in Barnhart, the early 12th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A leader or captain in general is from about 1205 and is obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) In the Old Testament it rendered the Vulgate's dux, as in Genesis 36, so that Shakespeare's “Duke of Athens” was not the anachronism one commentator thought.^(OED 1989)^(Trench 1859) The hereditary title of the highest rank of nobility is from 1337 in the OED, probably the mid-14th century in Barnhart and Etymonline, displacing the native [[earl]].^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''Dukes'', the fists, is perhaps from rhyming slang Duke of York for fork, “hand”,^(MWU 2024) and the verb, to hit with the fist, is by 1952, with ''duke it out'' by 1971.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1066 – a sovereign prince.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1205 – a leader.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1337 – a title of nobility.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1952 – verb, to hit.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1971 – ''duke it out''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A nobleman of the highest rank, especially in Britain.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A prince who rules a [[duchy]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(slang, plural)'' The fists.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(slang)'' To fight with the fists: ''duke it out''.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dukedom]]

+ * [[archduke]]

+ * [[grand duke]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ducal]]

+ * [[duchess]]

+ * [[duchy]]

+ * [[grand duchy]]

+ * [[doge]]

+ * [[duct]]

+ * [[educate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}