duck

Meanings

Verb

• To quickly lower the head or body, often in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
• To quickly lower (the head or body), often in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
• To lower (something) into water; to thrust or plunge under liquid and suddenly withdraw.
• To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to plunge one's head into water or other liquid.
• To bow.
• To evade doing something.
• To lower the volume of (a sound) so that other sounds in the mix can be heard more clearly.
• To enter a place for a short moment.

Noun

• A cave passage containing water with low, or no, airspace.
• An aquatic bird of the family Anatidae, having a flat bill and webbed feet.
• Specifically, an adult female duck; contrasted with drake and with duckling.
• The flesh of a duck used as food.
• A batsman's score of zero after getting out. (short for duck's egg, since the digit "0" is round like an egg.)
• A playing card with the rank of two.
• A partly-flooded cave passage with limited air space.
• A building intentionally constructed in the shape of an everyday object to which it is related.
• A marble to be shot at with another marble (the shooter) in children's games.
• A cairn used to mark a trail.
• One of the weights used to hold a spline in place for the purpose of drawing a curve.
• Synonym of lame duck
• A long-necked medical urinal for men.
• A tightly-woven cotton fabric used as sailcloth.
• Trousers made of such material.
• ; pet; darling.
• Dear, mate (informal way of addressing a friend or stranger).

Related

Similar words

• duck down
• dip, dunk
• dip

Narrower meaning words

• Anas platyrhynchos (domesticus), Mallard-derived domestic breeds, including Pekin, Rouen, Campbell, Call, Runner; Cairina moschata, Muscovy duck

Origin

• From Middle English *dukken, from Old English *ducan, *duccan; a secondary verb akin to Middle English duken, douken, from Old English *dūcan, from Proto-West Germanic *dūkan, from Proto-Germanic *dūkaną, probably from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewb- (whence Proto-Germanic *dūbaną).
• Related to Scots dulk, Middle Dutch ducken, Low German ducken, German ducken, Danish dukke, dykke. Related also to Scots dook, douk, West Frisian dûke, Dutch duiken, Low German duken, German tauchen, Swedish dyka.
• From Middle English doke, ducke, dukke, dokke, douke, duke, from Old English duce, dūce, from Old English *dūcan ("to dip, dive, duck"), from Proto-West Germanic *dūkan, from Proto-Germanic *dūkaną ("to dive, bend down"). See verb above.
• Cognate with Scots duik, duke, dook, Danish dukand, dykand, Swedish dykfågel ("a diver, diving bird, plungeon"), Middle Dutch duycker ("diver"), Low German düker ("diver").
• From Dutch doek, from Middle Dutch doeck, doec, from Old Dutch *dōc, from Proto-West Germanic *dōk, 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"). doek.
• Potteries dialect, Black Country dialect and dialects of the former territory of Mercia (central England). Compare Danish dukke, Swedish docka, dialectal English doxy.
• Category:East Midlands English
• Category:West Midlands English
• Category:Northern England English