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Archduke

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arch⋅duke

  [ahrch-dook, -dyook]
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–noun
a title of the sovereign princes of the former ruling house of Austria.
Origin:
1520–30; earlier archeduke < F archeduc (now archiduc). See arch- 1 , duke
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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arch·duke   (ärch-dōōk', -dyōōk')   
n.  

  1. In certain royal families, especially that of imperial Austria, a nobleman having a rank equivalent to that of a sovereign prince.

  2. Used as a title for such a nobleman.


[Obsolete French archeduc : arche-, arch- (from Old French; see arch-1) + duc, duke (from Old French; see duke).]
arch·duke'dom n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

archduke 
1530, from M.Fr., from O.Fr. archeduc, from Merovingian L. archiducem (c.750), from arch- (see arch (adj.)) + duke (q.v.). Formerly the title of the rulers of Austrasia, Lorraine, Brabant, and Austria; later the titular dignity of the sons of the Emperor of Austria.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

archduke

a title, proper in modern times for members of the house of Habsburg. The title of archduke Palatine (Pfalz-Erzherzog) was first assumed by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, on the strength of a forged privilege, in the hope of gaining for the dukes of Austria an equal status with the electors of the Holy Roman Empire. The emperor Charles IV refused to recognize the title, and it was not juridically held by the Habsburgs until 1453, when the emperor Frederick III, a Habsburg, confirmed Rudolf 's privilege and granted the title of archduke of Austria to his son Maximilian and his heirs. All males of the house of Habsburg bore this title; their daughters and wives were archduchesses. The title of archduke or archduchess of Austria also occurred in the royal style of the Bourbon kings and queens of Spain, though they were not descended in the male line from their Habsburg predecessors.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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