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Added 9 October 2026

duke

/dʒuːk/ noun

In Latin: dux Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about duke at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A British peer of the highest rank.
A nobleman (in various countries) of high rank.

Origin

From Old French duc, through Middle English duk, duke, from Latin dux, ducis. Displaced native Old English heretoga. Was present as duc in late Old English, from the same Latin source. Doublet of doge, duc, duce, and dux. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk-, which is also the source of the second component in German Herzog. The “fist” sense is thought to be Cockney rhyming slang where “Duke(s) of York” = fork. Fork is itself Cockney slang for hand, and thus fist.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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