Definition of "duke" []

• A nobleman with the highest hereditary rank, especially a man of the highest grade of the peerage in Great Britain. (noun)
• A sovereign prince who rules an independent duchy in some European countries. (noun)
• Used as the title for such a nobleman. (noun)
• Slang A fist. Often used in the plural: Put up your dukes! (noun)
• Botany A type of cherry intermediate between a sweet and a sour cherry. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It is permitted to touch upon the habits and appearance of a truly great man; but to dwell upon the peculiarities of a duke, merely because he is a duke, is as much as to say he is your superior; a concession, I do not feel disposed to make in favour of any _mere duke_ in Christendom."
• "IV. iii.163 (113,4) [if the old fantastical duke] Sir Thomas Hammer reads, _the_ odd _fantastical duke_, but _old_ is a common word of aggravation in ludicrous language, as, _there was_ old _revelling_."
• "Any leader was a ‘duke’ (dux); thus “_duke_ Hannibal” (Sir"