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Webster 1913 Edition

Duck

Duck

(dŭk)
,
Noun.
[Cf. Dan.
dukke
, Sw.
docka
, OHG.
doccha
, G.
docke
. Cf.
Doxy
.]
A pet; a darling.
Shak.

Duck

,
Noun.
[D.
doek
cloth, canvas, or Icel.
dūkr
cloth; akin to OHG.
tuoh
, G.
tuch
, Sw.
duk
, Dan.
dug
.]
1.
A linen (or sometimes cotton) fabric, finer and lighter than canvas, – used for the lighter sails of vessels, the sacking of beds, and sometimes for men’s clothing.
2.
(Naut.)
pl.
The light clothes worn by sailors in hot climates.
[Colloq.]

Duck

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Ducked
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Ducking
.]
[OE.
duken
,
douken
, to dive; akin to D.
duiken
, OHG.
t[GREEK]hhan
, MHG.
tucken
,
tücken
,
t[GREEK]chen
, G.
tuchen
. Cf. 5th
Duck
.]
1.
To thrust or plunge under water or other liquid and suddenly withdraw.
Adams, after
ducking
the squire twice or thrice, leaped out of the tub.
Fielding.
2.
To plunge the head of under water, immediately withdrawing it;
as,
duck
the boy
.
3.
To bow; to bob down; to move quickly with a downward motion.
“ Will duck his head aside.”
Swift.

Duck

(dŭk)
,
Verb.
I.
1.
To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to dive; to plunge the head in water or other liquid; to dip.
In Tiber
ducking
thrice by break of day.
Dryden.
2.
To drop the head or person suddenly; to bow.
The learned pate
Ducks
to the golden fool.
Shakespeare

Duck

,
Noun.
[OE.
duke
,
doke
. See
Duck
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
(Zool.)
Any bird of the subfamily
Anatinæ
, family
Anatidæ
.
☞ The genera and species are numerous. They are divided into
river ducks
and
sea ducks
. Among the former are the common domestic duck (
Anas boschas
); the wood duck (
Aix sponsa
); the beautiful mandarin duck of China (
Dendronessa galeriliculata
); the Muscovy duck, originally of South America (
Cairina moschata
). Among the sea ducks are the eider, canvasback, scoter, etc.
2.
A sudden inclination of the bead or dropping of the person, resembling the motion of a duck in water.
Here be, without
duck
or nod,
Other trippings to be trod.
Milton.
Bombay duck
(Zool.)
,
a fish. See
Bummalo
.
–
Buffel duck
,
Spirit duck
.
See
Buffel duck
.
–
Duck ant
(Zool.)
,
a species of white ant in Jamaica which builds large nests in trees.
–
Duck barnacle
.
(Zool.)
See
Goose barnacle
.
–
Duck hawk
.
(Zool.)
(a)
In the United States: The peregrine falcon.
(b)
In England: The marsh harrier or moor buzzard.
–
Duck mole
(Zool.)
,
a small aquatic mammal of Australia, having webbed feet and a bill resembling that of a duck (
Ornithorhynchus anatinus
). It belongs the subclass Monotremata and is remarkable for laying eggs like a bird or reptile; – called also
duckbill
,
platypus
,
mallangong
,
mullingong
,
tambreet
, and
water mole
.
–
To make ducks and drakes
,
to throw a flat stone obliquely, so as to make it rebound repeatedly from the surface of the water, raising a succession of jets
; hence:
To play at ducks and drakes
, with property,
to throw it away heedlessly or squander it foolishly and unprofitably.
–
Lame duck
.
See under
Lame
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Duck

DUCK

,
Noun.
[G, L., to weave.] A species of coarse cloth or canvas, used for sails, sacking of beds, &c.

DUCK

,
Noun.
[from the verb, to duck.]
1.
A water fowl, so called from its plunging. There are many species or varieties of the duck, some wild, others tame.
2.
An inclination of the head, resembling the motion of a duck in water.
3.
A stone thrown obliquely on the water so as to rebound; as in duck and drake.

DUCK

,
Noun.
A word of endearment or fondness.

DUCK

,
Verb.
T.
[G.]
1.
To dip or plunge in water and suddenly withdraw; as, to duck a seamen. It differs from dive, which signifies to plunge ones self, without immediately emerging.
2.
To plunge the head in water and immediately withdraw it; as, duck the boy.
3.
To bow, stoop or nod.

DUCK

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To plunge into water and immediately withdraw; to dip; to plunge the head in water or other liquid.
In Tiber ducking thrice by break of day.
2.
To drop the head suddenly; to bow; to cringe.
Duck with French nods.

Definition 2024

Duck

Duck

See also: duck

English

Proper noun

Duck

  1. A surname​.
  2. A town in North Carolina.
  3. An unincorporated community in West Virginia.

duck

duck

See also: Duck

English

Verb

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; to thrust or plunge under liquid and suddenly withdraw.
    • Fielding
      Adams, after ducking the squire twice or thrice, leaped out of the tub.
  3. (intransitive) To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to plunge one's head into water or other liquid.
    • Dryden
      In Tiber ducking thrice by break of day.
  4. (transitive) To lower (the head) in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Jonathan Swift to this entry?)
  5. (intransitive) To bow.
    • Shakespeare
      The learned pate / Ducks to the golden fool.
  6. (transitive) 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.
    • 2007, Alexander U. Case, Sound FX: unlocking the creative potential of recording studio effects (page 183)
      The music is ducked under the voice.
Synonyms
  • (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

Coordinate terms

  • (to lower the head or body to prevent it from being struck): hit the deck
Derived terms
Translations
to lower the head or body
A duck with its wings outstretched.

Etymology 2

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

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. (slang) A playing card with the rank of two.
  6. A partly-flooded cave passage with limited air space.
  7. 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’.
  8. A marble to be shot at with another marble (the shooter) in children's games.
  9. (US) A cairn used to mark a trail.
  10. One of the weights used to hold a spline in place for the purpose of drawing a curve.
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations

See also

References

Etymology 3

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

  • dook, doock (Scotland)

Noun

duck ‎(plural ducks)

  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.
  2. (in the plural) Trousers made of such material.
    • 1918, Rebecca West, The Return of the Soldier, Virago 2014, page 56:
      And they would go up and find old Allington, in white ducks, standing in the fringe of long grasses and cow-parsley on the other edge of the island […].
Translations

Etymology 4

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

Noun

duck ‎(plural ducks)

  1. A term of endearment; pet; darling.
    And hold-fast is the only dog, my duck (William Shakespeare - The Life of King Henry the Fifth, Act 2, Scene 3).
  2. (Britain dialect, chiefly East of the Pennines) Dear, mate (informal way of addressing a friend or stranger).
    Ay up duck, ow'a'tha?

Synonyms

  • See Wikisaurus:friend

Derived terms

References

  • Birks, Steve (2005-01-26), “The history of the Potteries dialect”, in BBC, retrieved 2014-11-19

German

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ʊk

Verb

duck

  1. Imperative singular of ducken.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dʌk/
  • Homophone: duck
  • Rhymes: -ʌk

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