duty
English
Etymology
From Middle English duete, from Old French deu (“due”), past participle of devoir (“to owe”), from Latin debere (“to owe”), from de (“from”) + habere (“to have”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈdjuːti/
- (General American) IPA(key): /duːti/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK) (file) Audio (file) - Rhymes: -uːti
- Homophone: doody (for some speakers)
Noun
duty (countable and uncountable, plural duties)
- That which one is morally or legally obligated to do.
- We don't have a duty to keep you here.
- 1805, 21 October, Horatio Nelson
- England expects that every man will do his duty.
- Template:RQ:EHough PrqsPrc
- Captain Edward Carlisle […] felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, […]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.
- 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
- Charles had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place, but he was not such a whopstraw as to make the least noise in the performance of his duties when his lordship was out of humour.
- 2013 August 10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
- British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.
- The state of being at work and responsible for or doing a particular task.
- I’m on duty from 6 pm to 6 am.
- A tax placed on imports or exports; a tariff.
- (obsolete) One's due, something one is owed; a debt or fee.
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Matthew XX:
- Take that which is thy duty, and goo thy waye.
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Matthew XX:
- (obsolete) Respect; reverence; regard; act of respect; homage.
- William Shakespeare (c.1564–1616)
- my duty to you
- William Shakespeare (c.1564–1616)
- The efficiency of an engine, especially a steam pumping engine, as measured by work done by a certain quantity of fuel; usually, the number of pounds of water lifted one foot by one bushel of coal (94 lbs. old standard), or by 1 cwt. (112 lbs., England, or 100 lbs., United States).
Usage notes
- Adjectives often used with "duty": public, private, moral, legal, social, double, civic, contractual, political, judicial, etc.
Synonyms
- (that which one is obligated to do): obligation
Antonyms
Derived terms
- active duty
- chimney-duty
- civic duty
- customs duty
- death duty
- Delivered Duty Paid
- Delivered Duty Unpaid
- dutiable
- dutiful (adjective)
- duty-bound
- duty calls
- duty cycle
- duty-free
- duty of care
- estate duty
- excise duty
- export duty
- fatigue duty
- fiduciary duty
- filial duty
- heavy-duty
- import duty
- jury duty
- legal duty
- light-duty
- line of duty
- neglect duty
- off duty
- on duty
- point duty
- sea duty/sea-duty
- shore duty
- stamp duty
- succession duty
- tonnage duty
- tour of duty
Related terms
Translations
that which one is morally or legally obligated to do
|
period of time
|
tax; tariff
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Further reading
- “duty”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “duty”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “duty”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Lower Sorbian
Pronunciation
Participle
duty
Declension
Declension of duty
Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Neuter singular | Dual | Plural | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | duty | duta | dute | dutej | dute |
Genitive | dutego | duteje | dutego | duteju | dutych |
Dative | dutemu | dutej | dutemu | dutyma | dutym |
Accusative | duty dutego (animate) |
dutu | dute | dutej duteju (animate) |
dute dutych (optional animate form) |
Instrumental | dutym | duteju | dutym | dutyma | dutymi |
Locative | dutem | dutej | dutem | dutyma | dutych |
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/uːti
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English 3-syllable words
- English basic words
- en:Directives
- en:Taxation
- Lower Sorbian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Lower Sorbian non-lemma forms
- Lower Sorbian past passive participles