duke

[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.
Compare royal duke.
3.
a nobleman of corresponding rank in certain other countries.
4.
a cultivated hybrid of the sweet and sour cherry.
5.
dukes, Slang. fists; hands:
Put up your dukes.
verb (used with object), duked, duking.
6.
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.
Idioms
7.
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.

Duke

[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.

Wayne

[weyn] /weɪn/
noun
1.
Anthony ("Mad Anthony") 1745–96, American Revolutionary War general.
2.
John (Marion Michael Morrison"Duke") 1907–79, U.S. film actor.
3.
a township in N New Jersey.
4.
a city in SE Michigan, near Detroit.
5.
a male given name: from an Old English word meaning “wagonmaker.”.

Ellington

[el-ing-tuh n] /ˈɛl ɪŋ tən/
noun
1.
Edward Kennedy ("Duke") 1899–1974, U.S. jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor.
Examples from the web for duke
  • Several members have achieved and have been awarded with their gold duke of edinburgh.
  • The name comes from the fact that the latter house is owned by the duke.
  • He preferred duke to marion, and the name stuck for the rest of his life.
  • I beg you to strike a medal for duke, to order the president to strike it.
  • The dramatic center of the play comes in the court of the duke of venice.
  • The rulers of fire are prince and duke, who both reincarnate whenever it suits them.
  • duke of caxias, military commander, nationalist leader, father of the army.
  • Shadow and duke from the shadow adventures by mavis duke hinton.
British Dictionary definitions for duke

duke

/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
related
adjective ducal
Word Origin
C12: from Old French duc, from Latin dux leader

Ellington

/ˈɛlɪŋtən/
noun
1.
Duke, nickname of Edward Kennedy Ellington. 1899–1974, US jazz composer, pianist, and conductor, famous for such works as "Mood Indigo" and "Creole Love Call"

Wayne

/weɪn/
noun
1.
John, real name Marion Michael Morrison. 1907–79, US film actor, noted esp for his many Westerns, which include Stagecoach (1939), The Alamo (1960), and True Grit (1969), for which he won an Oscar
Word Origin and History for duke
n.

early 12c., "sovereign prince," from Old French duc (12c.) and directly from Latin dux (genitive ducis) "leader, commander," in Late Latin "governor of a province," from ducere "to lead," from PIE *deuk- "to lead" (cf. Old English togian "to pull, drag," Old High German ziohan "to pull," Old English togian "to draw, drag," Middle Welsh dygaf "I draw").

Applied in English to "nobleman of the highest rank" probably first mid-14c., ousting native earl. Also used to translate various European titles (e.g. Russian knyaz).

Wayne

surname, by 1319, variant of Wain, representing wainwright, wainer (see wain) or perhaps "one who dwells by the tavern with the sign of the wain."

Slang definitions & phrases for duke

duke

noun
  1. A hand, esp when regarded as a weapon (1874+)
  2. The winning decision in a boxing match, signaled by the referee's holding up the victor's hand: Even if I lose the duke I get forty percent (1930s+ Prizefight)
verb
  1. To hand something to someone: Duke the kid a five or ten (1940s+)
  2. To fight with the fists (1940s+)
  3. To try to collect money from a parent for something given to a child (1940s+ Circus)
  4. To short-change someone by palming a coin owed him (1940s+ Circus)
  5. To shake hands; press the flesh (1965+)
  6. To do the sex act with or to; boff, screw: She might even have duked one of the Hobart Street Fros sometime (1990s+ Street gang)
Related Terms

dukes

[perhaps fr Romany dook, ''the hand as read in palmistry, one's fate'']


duke in the Bible

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).