Benjamin newton duke

benjamin newton, 1855–1929, and his brother, james buchanan, 1856–1925, u.s. industrialists.
a male given name.
noun
a n-bleman of high rank: in the british isles standing above the other grades of the n-bility
the prince or ruler of a small princ-p-lity or duchy
n.

early 12c., “sovereign prince,” from old french duc (12c.) and directly from latin dux (genitive ducis) “leader, commander,” in late latin “governor of a province,” from ducere “to lead,” from pie -deuk- “to lead” (cf. old english togian “to pull, drag,” old high german ziohan “to pull,” old english togian “to draw, drag,” middle welsh dygaf “i draw”).

applied in english to “n-bleman of the highest rank” probably first mid-14c., ousting native earl. also used to translate various european t-tles (e.g. russian knyaz).

noun

a hand, esp when regarded as a weapon (1874+)
the winning decision in a boxing match, signaled by the referee’s holding up the victor’s hand: even if i lose the duke i get forty percent (1930s+ prizefight)

verb

to hand something to someone: duke the kid a five or ten (1940s+)
to fight with the fists (1940s+)
to try to collect money from a parent for something given to a child (1940s+ circus)
to short-change someone by palming a coin owed him (1940s+ circus)
to shake hands; press the flesh (1965+)
to do the s-x act with or to; boff, screw: she might even have duked one of the hobart street fros sometime (1990s+ street gang)

related terms

dukes

[perhaps fr romany dook, ”the hand as read in palmistry, one’s fate”]

derived from the latin dux, meaning “a leader;” arabic, “a sheik.” this word is used to denote the phylarch or chief of a tribe (gen. 36:15-43; ex. 15:15; 1 chr. 1:51-54).