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duca

duke

noun DOO-kah Rare
People & Society Honorifics

Origin: From Latin dux, ducis (leader, general).

Usage Note

Duca is one of the small class of Italian nouns ending in -a that are masculine (il duca, i duchi). The plural i duchi changes the -ca to -chi to preserve the hard 'k' sound before i. The feminine counterpart is la duchessa (duchess). In historical and literary contexts il Duca appears frequently, most famously in Verdi's opera Rigoletto.

Examples

"Il duca abitava in un castello medievale."

Natural Translation

The duke lived in a medieval castle.

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