# duke

> English word · Noun · IPA /dʒuːk/ · frequency rank #3,293

## Definitions
1. The male ruler of a duchy (female equivalent: duchess).
2. The sovereign of a small state.
3. A high title of nobility; the male holder of a dukedom.
4. A grand duke.
5. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genera Bassarona and Dophla.
6. A fist.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **duo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-duo)
- **dye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dye)
- **dun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dun)
- **dum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dum)
- **dup** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dup)
- **dur** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dur)
- **duty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-duty)
- **dumb** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dumb)
- **dust** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dust)
- **dump** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dump)
- **dull** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dull)
- **Dunn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dunn)
- **dunk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dunk)
- **duly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-duly)
- **dusk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dusk)
- **dyke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dyke)
- **dune** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dune)
- **dung** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dung)
- **duma** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-duma)
- **dupe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/duke-vs-dupe)

## Common misspellings (5)
`dduke`, `dkue`, `duek`, `dukke`, `udke`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/duke