duck
see also: Duck
Pronunciation
  • enPR: dŭk, IPA: /dʌk/
  • (Northern England, Ireland) IPA: /dʊk/
Etymology 1

From Middle English ducken, duken, douken, from Old English *dūcan, from Proto-West Germanic *dūkan, from Proto-Germanic *dūkaną, probably from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewb- (whence Proto-Germanic *dūbaną).

Related to Scots dulk, Middle Dutch ducken, Low German ducken, German ducken, Danish dukke, dykke. Related also to Scots dook, douk, Western Frisian dûke, Dutch duiken, Low German duken, German tauchen, Swedish dyka.

Verb

duck (ducks, present participle ducking; simple past and past participle ducked)

  1. (intransitive) To quickly lower the head or body, often in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
    Duck! There's a branch falling off the tree!
  2. (transitive) To quickly lower (the head or body), often in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
  3. (transitive) To lower (something) into water; to thrust or plunge under liquid and suddenly withdraw.
  4. (intransitive) To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to plunge one's head into water or other liquid.
  5. (intransitive) To bow.
  6. (transitive, figurative) To evade doing something.
  7. (transitive) To lower the volume of (a sound) so that other sounds in the mix can be heard more clearly.
  8. (intransitive, colloquial) To enter a place for a short moment.
    I'm just going to duck into the loo for a minute; can you hold my bag?
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

duck (plural ducks)

  1. (caving) A cave passage containing water with low, or no, airspace.
Etymology 2

From Middle English doke, ducke, dukke, dokke, douke, duke, from Old English duce, dūce ("duck"), from Old English *dūcan, from Proto-West Germanic *dūkan, from Proto-Germanic *dūkaną.

Cognate with Scots duik, duke, dook ("duck"), Danish dukand, dykand ("sea-duck"), Swedish dykfågel, Middle Dutch duycker, Low German düker.

For the meaning development compare with Russian ныро́к (nyrók, “pochard”) connected with ныря́ть ("to dive").

Noun

duck

  1. An aquatic bird of the family Anatidae, having a flat bill and webbed feet.
  2. Specifically, an adult female duck; contrasted with drake and with duckling.
  3. (uncountable) The flesh of a duck used as food.
  4. (cricket) A batsman's score of zero after getting out. (short for duck's egg, since the digit "0" is round like an egg.)
  5. (slang) A playing card with the rank of two.
  6. A building intentionally constructed in the shape of an everyday object to which it is related.
    A luncheonette in the shape of a coffee cup is particularly conspicuous, as is intended of an architectural duck or folly.
  7. A marble to be shot at with another marble (the shooter) in children's games.
  8. (US) A cairn used to mark a trail.
  9. One of the weights used to hold a spline in place for the purpose of drawing a curve.
  10. (finance, slang, dated) Synonym of lame duck
  11. (medicine) A long-necked medical urinal for men; a bed urinal.
  12. (UK, slang, obsolete) A faggot; a meatball made from offal.
  13. (US, LGBT, prison slang) Synonym of bitch.
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Etymology 3

From Dutch doek, from Middle Dutch doeck, doec ("linen cloth"), from odt *dōc, from Proto-West Germanic *dōk, from Proto-Germanic *dōkaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dwōg-, *dwōk-.

Noun

duck

  1. A tightly-woven cotton fabric used as sailcloth.
  2. (in plural) Trousers made of such material.
Related terms Translations Etymology 4

Potteries dialect, Black Country dialect and dialects of the former territory of Mercia (central England). Compare Danish dukke, Swedish docka, dialectal English doxy.

Noun

duck (plural ducks)

  1. A term of endearment; pet; darling.
  2. (Midlands) Dear, mate (informal way of addressing a friend or stranger).
    Ay up duck, ow'a'tha?
Synonyms Verb

duck (ducks, present participle ducking; simple past and past participle ducked)

  1. (transitive) To surreptitiously leave a rubber duck on someone's parked Jeep as an act of kindness (see Jeep ducking).

Duck
Etymology

The surname is originally a nickname from Middle English doke.

Pronunciation Proper noun
  1. Surname.
  2. A town in North Carolina.
  3. An unincorporated community in West Virginia.



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