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duke

[dook, dyook]

noun

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

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. Compare royal duke.

a nobleman of corresponding rank in certain other countries.

a cultivated hybrid of the sweet and sour cherry.

dukes, Slang. fists; hands: Put up your dukes.

verb (used with object)

Slang. to hit or thrash with the fists (sometimes followed by out): He duked me because he said I had insulted him. The bully said he was going to duke out anyone who disagreed.

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Duke is always a great word to know.

So is schmuck. Does it mean:

an obnoxious or contemptible person

having a pleasantly plump figure

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Idiom

duke it out, to fight, especially with the fists; do battle: The adversaries were prepared to duke it out in the alley.

Origin:
1100–50; Middle English duke, duc, late Old English duc < Old French duc, dus, dux < Medieval Latin dux hereditary ruler of a small state, Latin: leader; see dux; dukes “fists” of unclear derivation and perhaps of distinct orig.

Example Sentences

Geographically speaking, the duke and his fellow toffs were champions of diversity.

Duke isn't the only utility to grasp the financial upside of smart-grid projects.

Still, it's pretty entertaining to watch these robots duke it out.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

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

a male given name.

noun

Anthony (“Mad Anthony”), 1745–96, American Revolutionary War general.

John (Marion Michael Morrison; “Duke”), 1907–79, U.S. film actor.

a township in N New Jersey. 46,474.

a city in SE Michigan, near Detroit. 21,159.

a male given name: from an Old English word meaning “wagonmaker.”

noun

Edward Kennedy (“Duke”), 1899–1974, U.S. jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To duke

Collins

World English Dictionary

duke (djuːk)

—n
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

Related: ducal

[C12: from Old French duc, from Latin dux leader]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

duke

1129, from O.Fr. duc and L. dux (gen. ducis) "leader, commander," in L.L. "governor of a province," from ducere "to lead," from PIE *deuk- "to lead" (cf. O.E. togian "to pull, drag," O.H.G. ziohan "to pull," O.E. togian "to draw, drag"). Applied in Eng. to "nobleman of the highest rank" probably first

EXPAND

c.1350, ousting native earl. Used to translate various European titles (e.g. Rus. knyaz).

COLLAPSE

Slang Dictionary

duke definition

in.
to empty one's stomach; to vomit. (Collegiate. Rhymes with puke. See also dukes.) : She's in the john, duking like a goat.
Go to dook. :

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Easton

Bible Dictionary

Duke definition

derived from the Latin dux, meaning "a leader;" Arabic, "a sheik." This word is used to denote the phylarch or chief of a tribe (Gen. 36:15-43; Ex. 15:15; 1 Chr. 1:51-54).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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