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

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