# duce
## English
### Etymology

Borrowed from Italian duce. Doublet of doge, duc, duke, and dux.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈduːtʃeɪ/

### Noun

duce (plural duci)
* (fascism) an authoritarian leader, especially Benito Mussolini

#### Related terms

* Il Duce

#### Translations
## Italian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dux, ducis (“leader”). Compare the likewise borrowed doublets duca and doge.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈdu.t͡ʃe/
* Rhymes: -utʃe
* Hyphenation: dù‧ce

### Noun

duce m (plural duci)
* (archaic or literary) captain, leader, helm
    Synonyms: capitano, capo, condottiero
* (by extension, after the Fascist era) an authoritarian leader
    Synonyms: autocrate, despota, dittatore, oppressore, tiranno

#### Derived terms

* Duce

#### Related terms

* ducato

## Latin
### Verb

dūce
* Alternative form of dūc (“lead!, guide!”), second-person singular present active imperative of dūcō.

#### Usage notes

While common in Plautus, dūc is the far more common variant in the classical period.

### Noun

duce
* ablative singular of dux

## Old English
### Etymology

From the original meaning of "diver," from Proto-West Germanic *dūkan (“to duck, dive”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈduː.ke/, /ˈdu.ke/

### Noun

dū̆ce f
* duck (bird)
    Synonym: ened

#### Declension

Weak:

#### Descendants

* Middle English: doke, ducke, dukke, dokke, douke, duke
** English: duck
** Scots: duik, deuk, dook
** Yola: duucks (plural)

## Romanian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈdu.t͡ʃe/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ut͡ʃe
* Hyphenation: du‧ce

### Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin dūcere, from Proto-Italic *doukō, from Proto-Indo-European *déwketi, from the root *dewk-.

#### Verb

a duce (third-person singular present duce, past participle dus) 3rd conjugation
* (transitive) to carry, lead, take
    Cine duce copiii la școală?Who takes the children to school?
* (intransitive) to lead, to go
    Drumul acesta duce la casa mea.This road leads to my house.
* (reflexive) to go
    Mă duc acasă. ― I’m going home.
* (reflexive, figuratively) to die
* (ambitransitive, informal) to withstand, handle, weather, deal with
    O să-ți dau de lucru de să nu poți duce.I’ll give you so much to do that you won’t be able to take it.

##### Usage notes

The negative imperative of verbs is known to always be identical to the infinitive. However, like many of the verbs with a short imperative, duce often does not follow this rule in colloquial usage, keeping the same form as the imperative: Nu (te) duce—prescribed; nu (te) du—common in practice.
The same applies to the derived verbs.

##### Derived terms

* ducă
* duce de nas
* ducere

##### Related terms

* a aduce
* a arăduce
* a conduce
* a deduce
* a induce
* a introduce
* a produce
* a reduce
* a seduce
* a traduce

### Etymology 2

Modified, to be adapted to the Latin, from the older form ducă, itself from Italian duca, and partly through Byzantine Greek δούκα (doúka), ultimately from Latin dux.

#### Alternative forms

* ducă — archaic

#### Noun

duce m (plural duci)
* duke

##### Declension
### References

* ↑ Gramatica limbii române [Grammar of the Romanian language], volume 1, Bucharest: Romanian Academy, 2005, →ISBN, page 380

### Further reading

* duce in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)