duck English · revision 6379

+ English has two words spelled duck: the bird, named from the native verb to duck or dive, and a strong cotton cloth borrowed from Dutch.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dʌk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|bird; to dip}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=967|origins=gem-pro *dūkaną}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The bird is Middle English doke, duk, [[inh|ang|dūce|t=duck]], literally “a diver”, from an unrecorded Old English verb *dūcan, to duck or dive,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) from [[gem-pro|*dūkaną]], cognate with [[dum|dūken|t=to dip, dive]] and German [[m|de|tauchen|t=to dive]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) It replaced the older Old English name [[m|ang|ened]], from PIE *anət-.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The bird: 967, in the genitive dūcan;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) the verb, to plunge into, about 1300 in Etymonline and before 1325, in ''Cursor Mundi'', in Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The form duck is from about 1420 but was not established before the 1500s.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The female of the bird, as opposed to the drake, is a duck from about 1386, and its meat from 1774.^(OED 1989) ''Duck'' as a term of endearment is from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) ''Ducks and drakes'', skimming stones on water, is from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) The ''lame duck'' was mid-18th-century stock-exchange slang for a defaulter.^(Cresswell 2021) In cricket a ''duck'', a score of nothing, is short for duck's egg.^(Collins 2023)^(AHD) The verb, to bob down suddenly, as in dodging, is by the 1520s,^(Etymonline) and to avoid a duty from later.^(Collins 2023) ''Duck soup'', something easy, is from 1899.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 967 – the bird.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – to plunge into water.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – to bob down quickly.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1580s – a term of endearment.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1899 – duck soup.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A water bird with a broad flat bill, short legs and webbed feet, or the female of this as distinct from the [[drake]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The meat of the duck.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(cricket)'' A score of zero.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(British informal)'' A term of endearment.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To lower the head or body quickly, as to avoid a blow.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To plunge or push under water briefly.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To avoid a duty or question; to [[dodge]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[duckling]]

+ * [[ducky]]

+ * [[duckweed]]

+ * [[lame duck]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|cotton cloth}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1640}}

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+ ==Etymology==

+ The cloth is [[bor|nl|doek|t=linen cloth, canvas]], Middle Dutch doec,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*dōkaz]], of unknown origin, cognate with German [[m|de|Tuch|t=cloth]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A strong linen or cotton fabric used for sails and sailors' clothing: 1640 in Barnhart, the 1630s in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the plural, ''ducks'' are trousers made of this cloth.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1640 – the fabric.^(Barnhart 1988)

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+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A heavy cotton or linen fabric like [[canvas]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''ducks'': trousers made of this.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[drake]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}