duke

¹ American  

[dook, dyook] / duk, dyuk /

noun

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

2. 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.

3. a nobleman of corresponding rank in certain other countries.

4. a cultivated hybrid of the sweet and sour cherry.

5. Slang. dukes, fists; hands.

   Put up your dukes.

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verb (used with object)

duked, duking

1. Slang. to hit or thrash with the fists (sometimes followed byout ): The bully said he was going to duke out anyone who disagreed.

   He duked me because he said I had insulted him.

   The bully said he was going to duke out anyone who disagreed.

idioms

1. duke it out, to fight, especially with the fists; do battle.

   The adversaries were prepared to duke it out in the alley.

Duke ² American  

[dook, dyook] / duk, dyuk /

noun

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

2. a male given name.

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duke British  

/ djuːk /

noun

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

2. the prince or ruler of a small principality or duchy

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Etymology

Origin of duke

First recorded in 1100–50; Middle English duke, duc, late Old English duc, from Old French duc, dus, dux, from Medieval Latin dux “hereditary ruler of a small state,” Latin: “leader”; dux; duke def. 5 dukes (in the sense “fists”) of unclear derivation and perhaps of distinct origin

Example Sentences

The continued disclosures about the former duke’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein have caused embarrassment to both the monarchy and Downing Street.

From The Wall Street Journal

And in a 1778 painting of Gainsborough’s wife, Margaret, who was the illegitimate daughter of a duke, he poses her classically in costly black lace.

From The Wall Street Journal

Rep. Wesley Hunt is likely headed to a runoff, while Democrats duke out their own primary.

From The Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile, Abdulmejid and his family lived a glitzy Riviera life, attending dances, we are told, with “four or five kings and any number of princes, dukes and counts.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Antony White KC, representing ANL, suggested to the court that Mail journalists could only have known about the duke's apparent comments about being in love with Davy if someone had told them.

From BBC

Related Words

• czar
• emperor
• king
• monarch
• shah
• sultan