duck

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Contents

English [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

From Middle English *dukken, from Old English *ducan, *duccan (“to duck”), related to Scots dulk (“to duck”), Middle Dutch ducken (“to duck”), Low German ducken (“to duck”), German ducken (“to duck”), Danish dukke, dykke (“to dive”); a secondary verb akin to Middle English duken, douken (“to duck, plunge under water, submerge”), from Old English *dūcan (“to dip, dive, duck”), from Proto-Germanic *dūkaną (“to dip, dive, bend down, stoop, duck”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewb- (“deep, hollow”) (> Proto-Germanic *dūbaną (“to dive”)). Related also to Scots dook, douk (“to bathe, drench, soak, baptise”), West Frisian dûke (“to plunge, dive”), Dutch duiken (“to dive, plunge, duck”), Low German duken (“to duck, dive, stoop”), German tauchen (“to dive, plunge, immerse, duck”), Swedish dyka (“to dive, submerge”).

Verb [edit]

duck (third-person singular simple present ducks, present participle ducking, simple past and past participle ducked)

  1. (intransitive) To lower the head or body in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
  2. (transitive) To lower (something) into water.
  3. (transitive) To lower (the head) in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
  4. (transitive) To try to evade doing something.
  5. (transitive) To lower the volume of (a sound) so that other sounds in the mix can be heard more clearly.
    • 2007, Alexander U. Case, Sound FX: unlocking the creative potential of recording studio effects (page 183)
      The music is ducked under the voice.
Synonyms [edit]
  • (to lower the head): duck down
  • (to lower into the water): dip, dunk
  • (to lower in order to prevent it from being struck by something): dip
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
to lower the head or body
to lower into the water
to lower in order to prevent it from being struck by something
to try to evade doing something
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 Duck on Wikipedia

Wikipedia

A duck in a spring with its wings outstretched.

Etymology 2 [edit]

From Middle English ducke, dukke, doke, dokke, douke, duke, from Old English duce, dūce (“duck”, literally “dipper, diver, ducker”), from Old English *dūcan (“to dip, dive, duck”), from Proto-Germanic *dūkaną (“to dive, bend down”). See verb above. Cognate with Scots duik, duke, dook (“duck”), Danish dukand, dykand (“sea-duck”), Swedish dykfågel (“a diver, diving bird, plungeon”), Middle Dutch duycker (“diver”), Low German düker (“diver”).

Noun [edit]

duck (countable and uncountable; plural ducks)

  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. A term of endearment; pet; darling
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  6. (UK, chiefly East of the Pennines) Dear, mate (informal way of addressing a friend or stranger).
    Ay up duck, ow'a'tha?
  7. (slang) A playing card with the rank of two.
  8. A partly-flooded cave passage with limited air space.
  9. 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.
    • 2007, Cynthia Blair, "It Happened on Long Island: 1988—Suffolk County Adopts the Big Duck," Newsday, 21 Feb.:
      The Big Duck has influenced the world of architecture; any building that is shaped like its product is called a ‘duck’.
  10. A marble to be shot at with another marble (the shooter) in children's games.
Hyponyms [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
Terms derived from duck (noun)
Translations [edit]
aquatic bird of the family Anatidae
female duck
flesh of a duck used as food
a batsman's score of zero after getting out
slang: playing card two
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

See also [edit]

References [edit]

Etymology 3 [edit]

From Dutch doek, from Middle Dutch doeck, doec (“linen cloth”), from Old Dutch *dōc, from Proto-Germanic *dōkaz (“cloth, rag”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwōg-, *dwōk-. Cognate with German Tuch (“cloth”), Swedish duk (“cloth, canvas”), Icelandic dúkur (“cloth, fabric”).

Alternative forms [edit]

Noun [edit]

duck (uncountable)

  1. A tightly-woven cotton fabric used as sailcloth.
    • 1912, Katherine Mansfield, "The Woman At The Store", from Selected Short Stories:
      He was dressed in a Jaeger vest—a pair of blue duck trousers, fastened round the waist with a plaited leather belt.
Translations [edit]
cotton fabric

See also [edit]

German [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Verb [edit]

duck

  1. Imperative singular of ducken.
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