duckn.¹

Brit.

/dʌk/, U.S.

/dək/

Forms: α. Old English duce, Middle English duk, Middle English– duck (Middle English dukke, 1500s ducke). β. Middle English doke (Middle English dooke, 1500s– Scottish duke, duk, duik ( deuk). γ. Middle English douk, Middle English–1500s dowk.

Etymology: Old English duce (? dúce ), < u- (or ū- ) grade of *dúcan to duck v., dive; compare Danish duk-and lit. dive-duck (and = duck), Swedish dyk-fågel lit. dive-fowl, diver; and the synonyms under ducker n.¹The phonological history presents some difficulties, especially owing to uncertainty whether the Old English vowel was u or ú , and the development of the three Middle English types: dukke , duk , corresponding to modern duck ; dōke , dook , corresponding to modern Scots duik /dʏk/; douke , dowke . Compare, for the forms, brook v.¹ and dove n.; and see Luick, Untersuch. zur Engl. Lautgeschichte (1896) §388, 553.

I. Primary sense.

a. A swimming bird of the genus Anas and kindred genera of the family Anatidæ, of which species are found all over the world.Without distinctive addition or context, the word is applied to the common domestic duck, a domesticated form of the wild duck or mallard n. ( Anas boscas). The other species (about 125 in number, distributed among some 40 genera) are distinguished by adjuncts expressing colour, appearance, or habits, as black duck, brown duck, crested duck, dusky duck, fishing duck, little duck, long-tailed duck, noisy duck, painted duck, pied duck, red-headed duck, ring-necked duck, ruddy duck, sleepy duck, swallow-tailed duck, tufted duck, velvet duck, whistling duck, white-faced duck, etc.; habitat, as channel-duck, creek-duck, mire-duck, moss-duck, mountain-duck, river-duck, rock-duck, sea-duck, shoal-duck, surf duck, tree-duck, wood-duck; native region, as American duck, English duck, French duck, German duck, Labrador duck, Norway duck; or by more distinctive premodifiers as canvas-back duck, St. Cuthbert's duck n., eider-duck, harlequin duck, herald-, maiden-, mandarin duck n., Muscovy duck n. or musk duck n., mussel duck n., penguin duck n., squawk-duck n., etc., see in their alphabetical places. In its widest technical sense, the name includes the gadwalls, garganeys, golden-eyes, pintails, pochards, scaups, scoters, sheldrakes, shovellers, spoonbills, teal, whistlewings, widgeons, and other related groups; the geese and goosanders, though Anatidæ, are not usually called ‘ducks’.grey duck: see first element.

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the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun]

endea700

duck967

diga1475

redshank1567

dilly1831

quacker1832

quack1865

quack quack1870

anatine1875

α.

967 in Kemble Cod. Dipl. No. 538. III. 18 Andlang Osrices pulle þæt hit cymþ on ducan seaþe; of ducan seaþe þæt hit cymþ on Rischale.

1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xvii. 62 A-syde he gan hym drawe Dredfully..as duk [v.r. 5 MSS. doke] doth fram þe faucoun.

a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 5 Henne-ban sede duckys wylle kylle.

1483 Cath. Angl. 110/2 A Dukke, anas.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 215/2 Ducke a foule, canne. Duke of the ryver, cannette.

1564 J. Rastell Confut. Serm. M. Iuell f. 37^v He is more neerer a ducke then a duke.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. ii. 130 Though thou canst swim like a Ducke, thou art made like a Goose.

1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. ii. ii. 69 Whistling Ducks are somewhat less than our Common Duck... In flying, their Wings make a pretty sort of loud whistling Noise.

1845 H. B. Hirst Poems 162 Brooding black-duck from her nest of turf In the tall sedge.

1847 W. B. Carpenter Zool.: Systematic Acct. I. §455 The Eiders are the largest of all the Ducks, being as weighty as the average of Geese.

collective plural.1858 Earl of Malmesbury Mem. Ex-Minister (1884) II. 145 It would do for firing into a flock of duck.β. 1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. v. 58 He schulde..Drinken bote with þe Doke [So B. v. 75. 1393 C. vii. 174 douke] and dyne but ones.14.. in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 563 Anas, a doke.c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 58 Hennes, goos, and dokis.c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 125/2 Dooke, byrde (K. doke), anas.1486 Bk. St. Albans D ij b Tame Dookes.1486 Bk. St. Albans F vj A badelyng of Dokys.a1513 W. Dunbar Ballat Abbot of Tungland in Poems (1998) I. 59 Thre dayis in dub amang the dukis.c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) vi. 31 The dukis cryit quaik.1630–56 R. Gordon Geneal. Hist. Earldom Sutherland Duke, draig, widgeon, teale..and all other kinds of wildfowl.1897 N.E.D. at Duck Mod. Sc. duik.] γ. 1362 [see β. ]. c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. xxix^v/1 Swannes gies or dowkis.

b. spec. The female of this fowl: the male being the drake n.¹In the domestic state the females greatly exceed in number, hence duck serves at once as the name of the female and of the race, drake being a specific term of sex.

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the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun] > female

duckc1405

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 390 Thanne shaltow swymme as murye..As dooth the white doke after his drake.

?c1475 Sqr. lowe Degre 320 The tele, the ducke and the drake.

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlix Take hede howe thy hennes, duckes, and gees do ley.

1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. iii. iv. 380 Between the Duck and the Drake there is this difference, that he hath growing on his Rump certain erect feathers..which she hath not.

1897 N.E.D. at Duck Mod. A flock of ducks swimming behind their drake.

c. The flesh of this fowl.

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the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > fowls > [noun] > duck

mallarda1425

teal?c1475

duck1774

canard1913

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VI. 111 Plutarch assures us, that Cato kept his whole family in health, by feeding them with duck whenever they threatened to be out of order.

d. Historical. (More fully duck-weight n. at Compounds 2a.) A stone or clay figure of a duck used as a weight in ancient Assyria and Babylonia.

ΚΠ

1849 A. H. Layard Monuments of Nineveh 21 A duck, in baked clay, with..a cuneiform inscription... The letters may denote a numeral.]

1853 A. H. Layard Discov. Nineveh & Babylon xxv. 601 The actual weight of the large ducks in the British Museum being 480 oz. troy.

e. elliptical. Duck-shot.

ΚΠ

1687 S. Sewall Let. Bk. 64 Six tone of shott, of which three ton Goose, two tone Duck, one pigeon.

1775 Jrnls. Cont. Congr. 3 426 Procure a quantity of duck and powder.

1845 W. G. Simms Wigwam & Cabin 2nd Ser. 100 Draw the loads, Scip, and put in some of the high duck.

2. In phrases and proverbial sayings. duck's weather, fine day for ducks, etc., referring to wet weather; like a duck in thunder, like a (dying) duck in a thunderstorm: having a forlorn and hopeless appearance; like water off (or from) a duck's back, like (or as) a duck (takes) to water: easily, readily; does (or will, would) a duck swim?: a colloquial phrase of enthusiastic acceptance or confirmation.

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the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > in vain [phrase] > having no effect upon a person

like water off (or from) a duck's back1871

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Apprendre (An idle, vaine, or needlesse labour) we say, to teach his grandame to grope ducks.

a1656 R. Capel in C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David (1870) I. Ps. ix. 18 Money, which lying long in the bank, comes home at last with a duck in its mouth.

1786 ‘P. Pindar’ Lyric Odes for 1785 (new ed.) vii. 21 Gaping upon Tom's thumb, with me in wonder; The rabble rais'd its eyes—like ducks in thunder.

1802 C. Wilmot Irish Peer on Continent (1920) 35 On asking him what fault he had to find with her, he look'd ‘like a Duck in Thunder’, and made me instinctively wave [sic] the investigation.

1823 W. Scott Peveril I. xi. 269 Closed her eyes like a dying fowl—turned them up like a duck in a thunder-storm.

1824 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 16 347 The thing passed off like water from a duck's back.

1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. ii. 81 Mr. Swiveller..observed that last week was a fine week for the ducks, and this week was a fine week for the dust.

1842 S. Lover Handy Andy iv. 35 ‘What do you say..will you dine with me?’ ‘Will a duck swim?’ chuckled out Jack Horan.

1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies v. 188 Then he..turned up his eyes like a duck in thunder.

1867 A. D. Richardson Beyond Mississippi xiv. 177 He takes to them as instinctively as a young duck to water.

1871 C. Kingsley Lett. (1877) II. 368 All else is a ‘paralogism’ and runs off them like water off a duck's back.

1880 J. Payn Confidential Agent III. 161 Look less like a duck in a thunderstorm.

1885 Boy's Own Paper 23 May 542/3 ‘Perhaps you would not object to drinking the queen's health?’ Would a duck swim?

1889 L. B. Walford Stiff-necked Generation (1891) 321 It had all passed off like water off a duck's back.

1891 L. T. Meade Sweet Girl Graduate xvi. 133 ‘Do you really think that Maggie Oliphant cares for Mr. Hammond?’..‘Cares for him!.. Does a duck swim? Does a baby like sweet things?’

1893 Scribner's Mag. Aug. 227/2 She has taken to society as a duck takes to water.

1894 J. D. Astley Fifty Years of my Life I. 22 I always took to shooting like a duck to water.

1906 ‘O. Henry’ Four Million (1916) 82 ‘With you, Dempsey?’ she stammered. ‘Say—will a duck swim?’

1917 J. C. Bridge Cheshire Proverbs 72 He winks and thinks like a duck i' thunner.

1933 A. Christie Lord Edgware Dies xxii. 183 You did look for all the world like a dying duck in a thunderstorm.

1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day vi. 107 I had taken to vice like a duck to water, but it ran off me like water from a duck's back.

1971 ‘A. Gilbert’ Tenant for Tomb i. 8 The Bear Lady said brightly that it was a nice day for the ducks.

II. Transferred uses.

a. A term of endearment.

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the mind > emotion > love > terms of endearment > [noun]

darlingc888

belamy?c1225

culver?c1225

dearc1230

sweetheartc1290

heartc1300

sweetc1330

honeya1375

dovec1386

jewelc1400

birdc1405

cinnamonc1405

honeycombc1405

lovec1405

wantonc1450

mulling?a1475

daisyc1485

crowdy-mowdy?a1513

honeysop?a1513

powsowdie?a1513

suckler?a1513

foolc1525

buttinga1529

whitinga1529

beautiful1534

turtle-dove1535

soula1538

heartikin1540

bully?1548

turtle1548

lamba1556

nyletc1557

sweet-lovea1560

coz1563

ding-ding1564

pugs1566

golpol1568

sparling1570

lover1573

pug1580

bulkin1582

mopsy1582

chuck1589

bonny1594

chick1594

sweetikin1596

ladybird1597

angel1598

muss1598

pinkany1599

sweetkin1599

duck1600

joy1600

sparrowc1600

sucket1605

nutting1606

chuckaby1607

tickling1607

bagpudding1608

heartling1608

chucking1609

dainty1611

flittermouse1612

honeysuckle1613

fubs1614

bawcocka1616

pretty1616

old thinga1625

bun1627

duckling1630

bulchin1633

bulch?c1640

sweetling1648

friscoa1652

ding-dongs1662

buntinga1668

cocky1680

dearie1681

chucky1683

lovey1684

machree1689

nykin1693

pinkaninny1696

nug1699

hinny1724

puss1753

pet1767

dovey1769

sweetie1778

lovey-dovey1781

lovely1791

ducky1819

toy1822

acushla1825

alanna1825

treat1825

amigo1830

honey child1832

macushla1834

cabbage1840

honey-bunch1874

angel pie1878

m'dear1887

bach1889

honey baby1895

prawn1895

hon1896

so-and-so1897

cariad1899

pumpkin1900

honey-bun1902

pussums1912

snookums1919

treasure1920

wogger1922

amico1929

sugar1930

baby cake1949

angel cake1951

lamb-chop1962

petal1974

bae2006

1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream v. i. 276 O dainty duck, o deare!

1608 T. Middleton Familie of Love (new ed.) i. sig. B2 And now sweete duck know I haue beene for my cousin Gerardines Will.

a1641 T. Heywood Captives (1953) i. iii. 25 Ffor see you, not too women, daynty ducks.

1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. xi. 147 How is he now, my duck of diamonds?

1880 C. H. Spurgeon Serm. XXVI. 46 Her child..was so much her ‘duck’ that he grew up to be a goose.

b. Often a duck of a…; and applied to things as well as persons.

ΚΠ

1819 M. Wilmot Let. 26 Nov. (1935) 31 I shall presently throw my letter into the long drawer at the top of my duck of a secretaire.

1841 Punch 18 Sept. 112/1 If our remarks were made with an affectionate eye to the young ladies of the satin-album-loving school, we should assuredly style this ‘a duck of a picture’.

?1884 Rede's Sixteen String Jack (new ed.) i. ii Oh, isn't he a duck of a fellow?

1891 J. S. Farmer Slang (at cited word) A duck of a bonnet.

c. With hypocoristic suffix -s. Used as a familiar form of address.

ΚΠ

1936 ‘J. Curtis’ Gilt Kid viii. 81 She crossed her legs. Her thighs were white and shapeless. ‘Got a fag, ducks?’

1958 E. Hyams Taking it Easy 200 Talked like you 'e did, ducks.

1958 Times 1 Oct. 11/6 One is waited on; called ‘sir’, not ‘ducks’.

1963 Times 13 Feb. 11/4 The comfortable northern friendliness of the expression ‘ducks’ as employed by comfortable northern females to all and sundry—to warm the heart towards the species.

a. Short for lame duck at sense 9.

b. A fellow, ‘customer’. U.S. slang.

ΚΠ

1857 Phœnix (Sacramento, Calif.) 11 Oct. 4/1 No such ‘duck’ as this could nab the ‘Ubiquitous’.

1872 ‘M. Twain’ Roughing It xlvii. 331 Are you the duck that runs the gospel-mill next door?

1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy ix. 125 I can't quite make out this other duck, but I reckon he's some big auger.

1904 W. H. Smith Promoters v. 100 As you said, Goldsby, Slosher's a slick duck.

c. (See quots.) U.S. slang.

ΚΠ

1938 Amer. Speech 13 156/1 Duck, a flying boat.

1942 E. Colby Army Talk 76 Ducks. Air Corps men..give the name to amphibian airplanes capable of landing on water or ground.

5. Anglo-Indian slang. A nickname for soldiers of the Bombay Presidency.

ΚΠ

1803 M. Elphinstone in T. E. Colebrooke Life Sir M. Elphinstone (1884) I. 53 (Y. Supp.) They have neither the comforts of a Bengal army, nor do they rough it, like the Ducks.

1879 C. R. Low Afghan War i. 97 The ‘Ducks’ (as the Bombay troops are called) enjoy it much.

6. A boy's game, also called duckstone, duckiestone; also one of the stones used in this game, and sometimes a player.

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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > other children's games > [noun] > stone-throwing games

duck and drake1585

dust-point1611

duck1821

duck's-off1888

knicker1900

1821 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Aug. 35/2 The duck is a small stone placed on a larger, and attempted to be hit off by the players at the distance of a few paces.

1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Duck, a game.

1893 Cassell's Bk. Sports & Pastimes 255 The players [at Duckstone] then, standing at home, ‘pink for duck’, that is, they throw their stones towards the block, and he whose stone remains farthest from the block is first duck.

7. Cricket slang. (Short for duck's egg n.). No score, nought; also, a player who fails to score.

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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [noun] > running > no score by batsman

spectacles1835

egg1861

nought1862

pair1862

duck's egg1863

round O1863

duck1868

blob1889

balloon1906

1868 St. Paul's Mag. in Daily News 24 Aug. You see..that his fear of a ‘duck’—as by a pardonable contraction from duck-egg a nought is called in cricket-play—outweighs all other earthly considerations.

1880 Daily Tel. 24 Sept. Life is very much like cricket: Some get scores and some ‘a duck’.

1885 Daily Rev. (Edinb.) 17 Aug. 3/5 The former batter proved a duck.

8. dialect and slang. (See quots.)

ΚΠ

1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 152 Duck, a bundle of bits of the ‘stickings’ of beef sold for food to the London poor. A faggot.

1876 C. C. Robinson Gloss. Words Dial. Mid-Yorks. Duck, a faggot.

9. lame duck: a disabled person or thing: spec. (Stock Market slang): one who cannot meet his financial engagements; a defaulter. Also in extended use and, short, duck.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > [noun] > failure to meet obligations > one who

deficient1697

lame duck1761

defaulter1808

man of straw1823

waddler1831

shicer1896

skip1915

shyster1938

society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > dealer in stocks and shares > type of

profit taker1552

bull1714

bear1718

fund-monger1734

lame duck1806

stag1845

taker-in1852

cornerer1869

wrecker1876

corner-man1881

market-rigger1881

boursocrat1882

offeror1882

ribbon clerk1882

inflater1884

manipulator1888

underwriter1889

kangaroo1896

piker1898

share pusher1898

specialist1900

tailer1900

writer1906

placee1953

corporate raider1955

tippee1961

raider1972

bottom fisher1974

white knight1978

greenmailer1984

the world > action or operation > ability > inability > [noun] > incapable or incompetent person > lacking resource or initiative

stick-in-the-mud1832

lame duck1889

1761 H. Walpole Lett. to H. Mann 28 Dec. (1843) I. 60 Do you know what a Bull, and a Bear, and a Lame Duck are?

1771 D. Garrick in S. Foote Maid of Bath Prol. Change-Alley bankrupts waddle out lame ducks!

1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. xii. 312 Attending at the Stock-exchange on settling-day amidst the quack of Ducks, the bellowings of Bulls, and the growls of Bears.

1832 T. B. Macaulay Mirabeau in Misc. (1860) II. 95 Frauds of which a lame duck on the Stock exchange would be ashamed.

1889 C. D. Warner Little Journey World xvii Do you think I have time to attend to every poor duck?

1929 W. J. Locke Jorico 226 She was something of a lame duck of a craft.

10.

a. Bombay duck = bummalo n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > order Siluriformes (catfish) > [noun] > member of family Harpodontidae (bummalo)

bummalo1698

ladyfish1712

Bombay duck1850

sea-duck1883

the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > seafood > [noun] > fish > cured fish > dried fish

stockfish1290

spalderlingc1340

titling1386

woke fish1386

salpa?1527

spelding1537

lobfish1538

bacalao1555

Poor John1589

buck-horn1602

poorjack1623

Jacka1625

spalding1776

speldring1802

Digby1829

klipfish1835

Bombay duck1850

scale-fish1856

skrae-fish1867

rockfish1876

katsuobushi1891

1850 F. Mason Nat. Productions Burmah 273 A fish nearly related to the salmon is dried and exported in large quantities from Bombay, and has acquired the name of Bombay Ducks.

1879 F. S. Bridges Round World in Six Months 214 ‘Bombay Ducks’ are always served with curry. These are small dried fish of a peculiar flavour, and are quite dry and crisp.

b. Australian. Sydney duck: a convict.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun]

prisona1225

prisonerc1384

enpresonéc1425

bird1580

warder1584

canary bird1593

penitentiala1633

convict1786

chum1819

lag1819

lagger1819

new chum1819

nut-brown1835

collegian1837

canary1840

Sydney duck1873

forty1879

zebra1882

con1893

yardbird1956

zek1968

1873 J. Miller Life amongst Modocs (1876) viii. 120 There are some hard names given on the Pacific; but when you call a man a ‘Sydney duck’ it is well understood that you mean blood.

Compounds

C1.

a. General attributive.

duck-dance n.

ΚΠ

1884 Mag. of Art Feb. 143/2 Indulging in a most ungraceful duck-dance.

duck-gun n.

ΚΠ

1813 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 85 I left my duck gun and went to Whitchurch.

1846 W. Greener Sci. Gunnery (new ed.) 285 Never make duck-guns above seven-eights in the bore.

duck-house n.

ΚΠ

1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. i. iii. 45 Like so many Duck-houses, all wet and dirty.

duck-pond n.

ΚΠ

1831 T. L. Peacock Crotchet Castle 293 To live on a gravelly hill—without so much as a duck-pond within ten miles of him.

duck-pool n.

ΚΠ

1601 in J. Barmby Memorials St. Giles's, Durham (1896) 29 For castinge of the dooke poole and for dammynge the water at giles bridge—xxd.

duck-puddle n.

ΚΠ

1893 A. Sinclair & W. Henry Swimming (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 337 Harrow..Its swimming-pond, named the ‘duck-puddle’, is one of the finest open-air baths in England.

duck-tribe n.

b. Objective and objective genitive.

duck-decoying n.

ΚΠ

1886 Athenæum 21 Aug. 230/3 Most readers of sporting books have some idea of duck-decoying.

duck-fattener n.

ΚΠ

1895 Westm. Gaz. 9 May 3/1 Duck fatteners have to pay highly for sittings of eggs.

duck-fattening n.

duck-hunt n.

ΚΠ

1847 C. Lanman Summer in Wilderness xxviii. 196 I..started on a duck hunt down the river Raisin.

duck-hunter n.

duck-hunting n.

ΚΠ

1730 Index of Addison's Wks. Duckhunting, what Mr. Bayle compares to it.

1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days ii. iv. 303 They had never been duck-hunting there since.

duck-keeper n.

ΚΠ

1696 London Gaz. No. 3175/4 Mr. Webbs, the Duck-keeper in St. James's Park.

duck-rearer n.

duck-rearing n.

duck-shooter n.

ΚΠ

1792 W. Scott Let. 10 Sept. (1932) I. 22 I have turned a keen duck shooter, though my success is not very great.

1945 C. Mann in B. James Austral. Short Stories (1963) 72 Even old duck-shooters have now almost got used to them.

duck-shooting n.

ΚΠ

1792 W. Scott Let. 30 Sept. (1932) I. 26 I have quite given up duck-shooting for the season.

1859 J. Conway Lett. from Highlands viii. 73 A day's duck-shooting.

c. Similative.

duck-foot adj.

ΚΠ

1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 198 They killed more Fowls..of the Duck-foot Kind.

duck-footed adj.

duck-hearted adj.

duck-like adj.

duck-toed adj.

C2.

a. Special combinations. Also duck and drake n., duck-bill n., duck's bill n., duck's egg n.

duck-chicken n. one hatched by a hen.

ΚΠ

1678 T. Jones Of Heart & Soveraign 201 Neither understood the other no more than duck-chickens their hen-dam, recalling them from connatural element.

duck-dive n. a vertical dive down into water by a swimmer; hence as v. intransitive, to make such a dive.

ΚΠ

1942 G. Mitchell Laurels are Poison ix. 99 She..began to come upstream in a series of duck-dives, testing the depth of the water.

1953 L. Charteris in J. Merril Off Beaten Orbit (1959) 114 Any good swimmer can duck-dive.

1969 ‘I. Drummond’ Man with Tiny Head xv. 176 Nigel took a deep breath, duck-dived and swam under water.

duck-gravel n. (see quot.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > stone > stony material > [noun] > gravel or shingle > gravel > type of

flood gravelc1420

river gravel1600

blue metal1699

slither1811

flint-gravel1865

plateau gravel1872

duck-gravel1885

peastone1909

pea gravel1911

1885 Daily News 14 July 2/2 Duck-gravel, a deposit like pumicestone, into which the ducks push their bills. Every ducker's place has a lump of this duck-gravel, a coralline stuff..like little oyster shells.

duck-ladder n. a kind of short ladder.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > ladder > [noun] > small ladder

eschellett1578

duck-ladder1883

1883 Law Times Rep. 49 139/1 He took a shorter ladder (called a duck ladder) and placed this duck ladder against the roof.

duck-legged adj. having unusually short legs: so duck-legs.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > leg > [adjective] > types of > having

jamby?a1400

well-legged1566

spindle-shankedc1600

spindle-shank1604

post-legged1608

splay-legged1638

duck-legged1650

stalk-legged1659

long-limbed1660

sharp-shinned1704

spindle-legged1710

leggy1776

red-legged1817

flamingo-legged1862

thick-legged1873

split-up1874

pin-legged1884

lank-legged1906

straddly1921

1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis 263 Or, why so long, doe they make men Duck~leg'd?

1714 D. Manley Adventures of Rivella 45 Conscious of his duck Legs and long Coat.

1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. II. vi. i. 75 A short duck legged little trojan, was equipped in a huge pair of the general's cast off breeches.

duck-oil n. water, moisture (Halliwell).

duck arse n. (also duck's arse, duck ass, duck's ass) slang a style of haircut in which the hair at the back of the head is shaped like a duck's tail (cf. D.A. n. at D n. Initialisms 3a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > other specific styles of hair > for men

French cut1583

pigeon wing1753

pompadour1885

D.A.1951

duck anatomy1951

duck-tail1955

Tony Curtis1956

duck arse1960

duck behind1961

comb-over1980

mullet1994

1960 H. Wentworth & S. B. Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 165/2 Duck's ass,..a boy's haircut.

1969 N. Cohn Pop from Beginning vi. 55 He looked like another sub-Elvis, smooth flesh and duck-ass hair.

duck anatomy n. (also duck's anatomy) = duck arse n.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > other specific styles of hair > for men

French cut1583

pigeon wing1753

pompadour1885

D.A.1951

duck anatomy1951

duck-tail1955

Tony Curtis1956

duck arse1960

duck behind1961

comb-over1980

mullet1994

1951 Sunday Pictorial 29 Oct. The D.A. therefore stands for Duck's Anatomy—or some such word.

duck behind n. (also duck's behind) = duck arse n.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > other specific styles of hair > for men

French cut1583

pigeon wing1753

pompadour1885

D.A.1951

duck anatomy1951

duck-tail1955

Tony Curtis1956

duck arse1960

duck behind1961

comb-over1980

mullet1994

1961 J. I. M. Stewart Man who won Pools iv. 48 His girl had..made him quit that Duck's Behind for a straight sleeking back with oil.

duck's disease n. (also ducks' disease) colloquial a facetious expression for shortness of leg.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > leg > [noun] > types of > state of having

legginess1832

duck's disease1925

1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words Ducks' disease, short-legged.

1960 B. Marshall Divided Lady i. vi. 28 Plinio, the barman with duck's disease, came running up.

duck-disease n. = duck's disease n.

ΚΠ

1928 S. Vines Humours Unreconciled viii. 103 Mr. Sheepshanks..soon got his host expanding a theory of the ‘duck-disease’, as he facetiously called the shortness of leg from which the Japanese were suffering.

duck-shot n. shot of a size suitable for shooting wild ducks.

ΚΠ

1851 R. Glisan Jrnl. Army Life (1874) vi. 57 I had a fine opportunity to plunge a whole charge of duck shot into his side.

duck-shover n. Australian and New Zealand slang a cabman who does not wait his turn in the rank, but touts for passengers; also transferred (see quot. 1941).

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > transport by vehicles plying for hire > [noun] > driving or hiring of cabs > driver of hired cab

cab driver1825

cabman1828

cabbie1829

duck-shover1898

mini-man1961

1898 E. E. Morris Austral Eng. Duck-shover.

1908 Westm. Gaz. 18 Jan. 3/2 A swanker and a duck~shover.

1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 26 Duckshover, one who adopts unfair business methods.

duck-shove v.

ΚΠ

1960 Spectator 4 Nov. 677 As the leader of the [New Zealand] Opposition complained, the Government has ‘dodged and duckshoved’ the issue.

1969 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 31 Aug. 5/1 Some Cabinet Ministers said that most local authorities were ‘duck shoving’ on the State's litter problem.

duck-shoving n.

ΚΠ

1870 Notes & Queries 4th Ser. VI. 111 ‘Duck-shoving’..is the term used by our Melbourne cabmen to express the unprofessional trick of breaking the rank, in order to push past the cabman on the stand for the purpose of picking up a stray passenger or so.

1896 Otago Daily Times (N.Z.) 25 Jan. 3/6 ‘Duck shoving’, a process of getting passengers which operated unfairly against the cabmen who stayed on the licensed stand and obeyed the by-law.

duck's-off n. the game duck or duckstone.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > other children's games > [noun] > stone-throwing games

duck and drake1585

dust-point1611

duck1821

duck's-off1888

knicker1900

1888–9 Longman's Mag. 13 516 Another [game] named ‘ducks-off’ consisted in setting on a large flat stone a round stone..which from a certain distance one strove to knock off.

duck soup n. slang (originally and chiefly U.S.) something requiring little effort; a person easy to overcome or cheat; a ‘cinch’.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > easiness > [noun] > that which is easy

ball play?c1225

child's gamec1380

boys' play1538

walkover1861

picnic1870

pudding1884

cakewalk1886

pie1886

cinch1888

snipa1890

pushover1891

pinch1897

sitter1898

pipe1902

five-finger exercise1903

duck soup1912

pud1917

breeze1928

kid stuff1929

soda1930

piece of cake1936

doddle1937

snack1941

stroll1942

piece of piss1949

waltz1968

1912 A. H. Lewis Apaches N.Y. iv. 84 ‘Them Gophers are as tough a bunch as ever comes down the pike.’ ‘Tough nothin'!’ returned Slimmy: ‘they'll be duck soup to Ike.’

1929 D. Hammett Red Harvest xxvi. 257 it was a juicy row, while it lasted—no duck soup for the coppers at that.

1966 C. S. Ogilvy & J. T. Anderson Excursions Number Theory i. 4 The number 307 comes out, in binary notation, to be 100110011 which would not have the convenience of 307 at the grocery store, perhaps, but is duck soup for the Computer.

1966 B. E. Wallace Murder in Touraine xvii. 52 Now all he had to do..was to..avoid a guard: it was going to be duck soup if you were the right kind of duck.

duck-tail n. (also ducktail) colloquial (a) = duck arse n. (see above); (b) South African a young hooligan or ‘teddy-boy’.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > other specific styles of hair > for men

French cut1583

pigeon wing1753

pompadour1885

D.A.1951

duck anatomy1951

duck-tail1955

Tony Curtis1956

duck arse1960

duck behind1961

comb-over1980

mullet1994

1955 D. Keene Who has Wilma Lathrop? (1966) xi. 129 The blond youth was in this up to his ducktail haircut.

1959 Chambers's 20th Cent. Dict. Add. Ducktail, the white Teddy Boy of South Africa.

1960 Guardian 28 Mar. 1/2 He [sc. Dr. Verwoerd] described South Africa's overseas critics as ‘the ducktails (Teddy boys) of the political world’.

1961 Personality (Durban) 16 May 27 I have long since ceased to use the label ‘Teddy boy’ and now think entirely in terms of ‘ducktails’.

1961 Listener 7 Sept. 343/2 The ‘stilyagi’ with their tight trousers and duck-tail hair-dos.

1968 N.Y. Rev. Books 7 Nov. 3/3 He was buying a bottle of hair-oil..to soothe his ducktail.

duck-walk n. a duckboard track (see duckboard n.).

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > track, trail, or path > [noun] > with specific surface

cinder-path1838

cinder track1887

dirt track1902

duck-walk1915

duckboard1917

1915 Blackwood's Mag. Apr. 449/1 Where there are no duck-walks, we employ planks laid across the mud.

1917 War Illustr. 28 Apr. 239/2 The ‘duck-walk’ is laid for easy crossing of difficult surfaces.

duck-weight n. = 1d.

duck-wife n. a woman who has charge of ducks.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > poultry-keeping > [noun] > keeper of poultry > keeper of ducks

duck-wife1869

ducker1885

1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. x. 109 She counted them like a good duck-wife.

b. Esp. in names of animals and plants. Also duck-hawk n., duckweed n., etc.

duck-ant n. the white ant or termite.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Isoptera > member(s) of (termites)

white ant1625

wood-ant1709

termes1773

termite1781

termite ant1815

duck-ant1851

magnetic termite1935

mudguts1952

1851 P. H. Gosse Naturalist's Sojourn Jamaica 283 A fragment of the earthy nest of the Duck-ants (Termites).

duck-eagle n. a South African species of eagle.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) > family Accipitridae (hawks, etc.) > [noun] > eagles > other types of

duck-eagle1731

eagle-hawk1829

martial eagle1829

lammervanger1830

serpent eagle187.

1731 G. Medley tr. P. Kolb Present State Cape Good-Hope II. 136 There is another sort of eagle in the Cape countries which the naturalists call Aquila anataria, or the Duck-Eagle.

duck-mole n. the Duck-billed Platypus.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Implacenta > [noun] > group Prototheria or Monotremata > duck-billed platypus

platypus1799

ornithorhynchus1800

water mole1800

paradox1815

duck-bill1840

tambreet1840

duck-billed platypus1847

duck-mole1875

1875 tr. E. O. Schmidt Doctr. Descent & Darwinism 237 The Ornithorhyncus, or duck-mole of Tasmania.

duck-mud n. Crow-silk.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > algae > [noun] > silkweeds

crow-silk1721

conferva1758

moor-ball1777

Oscillatoria1828

water flannel1843

conferval1850

confervoid1855

silkweed1857

duck-mud1884

1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants Duck-mud, conferva rivularis and other delicate green-spored Algæ.

duck's foot n. a local name of Lady's Mantle; also the American May-apple, Podophyllum peltatum.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Ranunculaceae (crowfoot and allies) > [noun] > podophyllum or May-apple

mayapple1731

duck's foot1755

Indian apple1833

hog apple1837

lime-plant1844

Podophyllum1844

mandrake1845–50

wild lemon1882

1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Ducksfoot, black snakeroot, or Mayapple.

Thesaurus »

Categories »

duck-snipe n. Bahamas the willet, Symphemia semipalmata.

duck-wheat n. = duck-bill wheat at duck-bill n. a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > wheat > types of wheat grain or plant

spelta1000

farc1420

ador?1440

flaxen wheat?1523

Peak-wheat?1523

red wheat?1523

white wheat?1523

duck-bill wheat1553

zea1562

alica1565

buck1577

amelcorn1578

horse-flower1578

tiphe1578

pollard1580

rivet1580

Saracen's corn1585

French wheat1593

Lammas-wheat1594

starch corn1597

St. Peter's corn1597

frumenty1600

secourgeon1600

polwheat1601

duck-wheat1611

kidneys of wheat1611

ograve wheat1616

soft wheat1640

cone-wheat1677

Lammas1677

Poland wheat1686

Saracen corn1687

pole rivet1707

Smyrna wheat1735

hard wheat1757

hen corn1765

velvet wheat1771

white straw1771

nonpareil1805

thick-set wheat1808

cone1826

farro1828

Polish wheat1832

velvet-ear wheat1837

sarrasin1840

mummy wheat1842

snowdrop1844

Red Fife1857

flint-wheat1859

dinkel1866

thick-set1875

spring1884

macaroni wheat1901

einkorn1904

marquis1906

durum1908

emmer1908

hedgehog wheat1909

speltoid1939

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Bled rouge, ordinarie red wheat; called by Kentishmen, Duck-wheat.

Draft additions December 2016

duck dive n. Surfing a manoeuvre used to dive beneath and so avoid an oncoming wave, in which the surfboard is pushed underwater nose first as the wave passes.

ΚΠ

1982 Surfer Apr. 23 Master the duck dive and it will prove a valuable addition to your repertoire, as important as any surfing maneuver.

2001 Carve Sept. 62/2 The secret of a good duck dive is timing the push on the tail to coincide with the wave's natural energy flow, so you go down and then pop out of the back.

2013 Red Bull. Aug. 10/1 (caption) The ‘duck dive’ is a surfer's plunge beneath a wave to avoid the impact of a wall of water.

Draft additions December 2016

duck-dive v. Surfing (a) intransitive to dive beneath and so avoid an oncoming wave by pushing one's surfboard underwater nose first as the wave passes; (b) transitive to push (one's surfboard) beneath a wave in such a way; (also) to dive beneath (a wave) in such a way.

ΚΠ

1987 Sydney Morning Herald 8 July 22/5 The narrow nose on my surfboard allows a woman to paddle and duck-dive easily.

1995 Irish Times 9 June 15/6 Duck-dive your board through the impact zone that is breaking continuously at 6 to 10 feet.

2001 L. Weiss & J. Stockwell Blue Crush (film script) (O.E.D. Archive) 45 Anne Marie duck-dives under the breaking wave, but Matt gets it right on the head, the wave ripping him from his board.

2010 S. Wyshynski Poser 228 I turned to see a tidal wave obscure the horizon... I'd have to try to duck-dive it.

Draft additions December 2016

duck-diving n. Surfing the action or practice of performing a duck dive (duck dive n. at Additions).

1982 Surfer Apr. 22 Providing that the wave isn't too powerful, duck diving is the most effective method of escaping the turbulence of a breaking wave.

1995 Canberra Times 3 Mar. 2/1 Pipeline legend Tom Carroll gives tips on duck-diving—one of the most difficult techniques to master.

2006 T. Anderson Riding Magic Carpet (2008) Gloss. 290 Duck-diving involves deliberately sinking your board, and then pushing yourself down before it resurfaces. It's not easy!

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

duckv.

Brit.

/dʌk/, U.S.

/dək/

Forms: α. Middle English (Scottish1500s) duke, Middle English–1500s douke, Middle English–1500s (Scottish and northern dialect–1800s) douk, dowk(e, 1500s (Scottish1600s–1800s) dook; β. 1500s ducke, ( dokk), 1500s– duck.

Etymology: The Middle English forms (= /duːk/), correspond to an Old English type *dúcan = Middle Dutch, Middle Low German and Low German dûken (Dutch duiken ), Old High German tûhhan , Middle High German tûchen , German tauchen , a West Germanic strong verb of 2nd ablaut series (with û instead of eu , iu in present stem). This form is still preserved in Scots douk , dook /duk/; but about the middle of the 16th cent., it was shortened in English to duck , probably by assimilation to duck n.¹ Compare however Middle High German and German ducken (Middle High German also tucken, tücken) to duck, dive, etc. < *dukjan; also Swedish dyka to duck, dive.

I. intransitive.

a. To plunge or dive, or suddenly go down under water, and emerge again; to dip the head rapidly under water.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > move downwards [verb (intransitive)] > dive into water

diveOE

ducka1400

splunge1839

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 23203 He þat doukeþ ones þer doun.

a1400–50 Alexander 4090 It was..bred full..Of dragons..& doukand neddirs.

1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 57 They conne wel also duke in the water after lapwynches and dokys.

1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Ducke vnder the water, vide in dyue.

1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 182 The outward sacrament of dipping or ducking in the water.

1625 P. Heylyn Μικρόκοσμος (rev. ed.) 757 Though to avoid their Darts he sometimes ducked, yet held he still his left hand aboue the water.

1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 48 To Douk, to bathe or plunge under water, to duck.

1890 Spectator 9 Aug. 167/2 It [sc. a torpedo] will be able ‘to duck’ under the defensive nettings carried by men-of-war.

1897 N.E.D. at Duck Mod. Sc. To dook for apples at Hallowe'en.

b. To make a sudden descent or dive, not under water.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > move downwards [verb (intransitive)] > come down suddenly

dopc1380

duck1553

1553 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Eneados v. xiii. 126 Quhil al the wallis doukis to the ground Under the brayand quhelis, and assiltre.

a1851 D. M. Moir Snow ii, in Poet. Wks. (1852) Behold the trees Their fingery boughs stretch out..As they duck and drive about.

1870 C. Dickens Edwin Drood iii. 13 Receiving the foul fiend, when he ducks from its stage into the infernal regions.

a. To bend or stoop quickly so as to lower the body or head; to bob; to make a jerking bow; hence, figurative to cringe, yield; so, to duck under.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > move downwards [verb (intransitive)] > bend down > momentarily

jouk1513

duck1530

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 526/1 I dowke, I stowpe lowe as a frere doth.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xix. 24 A wicked man can behaue himself humbly, and can douke with his heade.

1539 Surrender of Monasteries in T. Rymer Fœdera (1712) XIV. 611 Dokkyng, Nodding and Beckynge.

1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 57 Douking on all foure vnto him.

?1608 S. Lennard tr. P. Charron Of Wisdome i. xx. 78 To ducke and stoop to all sorts of people.

1713 A. Pope in Guardian 26 June 1/2 He never once Duck'd at the whizz of a Cannon Ball.

1869 R. Browning Ring & Bk. III. viii. 156 Law ducks to Gospel here.

1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch II. iii. xxiii. 7 Eat cold mutton, have to..‘duck under’ in any sort of a way.

1887 W. Besant World Went v. 42 [I] was comforted to see the men at the guns, none of them killed, and none of them ducking.

b. To back out, withdraw; to make off, abscond; to default. colloquial (originally U.S.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from action [verb (intransitive)] > avoid > turn aside from a course of action > back out

resile1529

to back out1807

duff1883

duck1896

punk1920

squib1938

bug1952

weasel1956

to wuss out1976

1896 G. Ade Artie ii. 9 I think I'll have to duck on that present.

1900 G. Ade Fables in Slang 42 Having delivered herself of these Helpful Remarks she would Duck.

1910 W. M. Raine Bucky O'Connor 249 Coming through the cañon Del Oro in the night, he ducked; I reckon he's in Mexico now.

1911 H. S. Harrison Queed xxi. 270 It's about over. And now I must pay for my fun—duck back to the office.

1917 H. L. Wilson Ruggles of Red Gap (1936) ii. 26 I duck out every morning before she's up.

1919 P. G. Wodehouse Damsel in Distress xvi He saw me, too, and what do you think he did? Ducked down a side-street, if you please.

1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 7/3 A wealthy bachelor, he ducked away from a question on the extent of his financial resources.

c. transitive. To get away from, to avoid, dodge (a person or thing). colloquial (originally U.S.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > safety > escape > escape from [verb (transitive)] > contrive to escape or evade > a person or slip away from

aglya1250

outsteala1325

glide?1510

slip1513

betrumpa1522

to give (one) the slip1567

to get by ——1601

outslip1616

to give (a person or thing) the go-by1653

elude1667

to tip (a person) the picks1673

bilk1679

to tip (a person) the pikes1688

to give one the drop1709

jouk1812

double1819

sneak1819

shirk1837

duck1896

the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from (action) [verb (transitive)] > avoid or shun > a problem or difficulty

hipc1440

illude1553

to give (a person or thing) the go-by1654

slink1658

jump1844

sidestep1899

burke1921

duck1928

bypass1941

1896 G. Ade Artie vi. 55 He was with a lot o' them Prairie avenue boys, and purty soon he ducks 'em and comes over an' touches me for two cases.

1926 J. Black You can't Win vii. 80 We'll get a passenger train out of Cheyenne, kid, if we can duck Jeff Carr.

1928 Daily Tel. 6 Nov. 13/3 (American Election) Both sides, he says, have ‘ducked’ the problems of Labour and foreign policy.

1936 ‘R. Hyde’ Passport to Hell 155 Soldiers who had ducked the church parades since the beginning of the War fell out of the lines to pray there.

1959 ‘M. M. Kaye’ House of Shade vi. 79 I should like to duck the whole situation by getting roaring drunk.

1963 Listener 21 Feb. 351/1 His peculiar play certainly ducked the questions of subjective and objective judgments that he chose to raise in Radio Times.

II. transitive.

3. To plunge (a person or thing) momentarily in, into, or under water or other liquid.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > causing to come or go down > cause to come or go down [verb (transitive)] > dip or plunge into liquid > momentarily or abruptly

ducka1300

dop1538

society > authority > punishment > public or popular punishments > [verb (transitive)] > punish by ducking

flood?14..

cuck1611

duck1751

horse-pond1757

a1300 Cursor Mundi 23203 He that es duked ans dun.

a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Fox & Wolf l. 750 in Poems (1981) 32 In the watter outher twyis or thryis He dowkit him.

?a1554 H. Willoughby in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) ii. 266 Ducked at the yardes arme, and so discharged.

1598 J. Stow Suruay of London 70 Ouerthrowne and well ducked.

c1600 Hist. & Life James VI (1825) 64 They were dowkit [1804 ed.: dukit] in a deap loch over the heid thrie severall tymes.

1631 S. Rutherford Lett. (1863) I. 78 Howbeit, ye may be ducked, but ye cannot drown.

1751 in W. Hone Every-day Bk. I. 1045 A man and woman are to be publicly ducked at Tring.

?a1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 200 An' had in mony a well been douked.

1790 A. Wilson Poems 209 While I can douk in ink a quill.

1820 W. Scott Abbot I. ii. 42 I say, duck her in the loch, and then we will see whether she is witch or not.

4. To lower (the head, etc.) suddenly and momentarily; to jerk down.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > causing to come or go down > cause to come or go down [verb (transitive)] > lower or let down > momentarily > a part of the body

duck1598

1598 E. Guilpin Skialetheia v. sig. D6 But bring them to a charge, then..Though but a false fire, they theyr plumes wil duck.

1607 G. Markham Cavelarice ii. 81 If..he haue taken a custome to duck downe his head, when he standeth stil.

1730 J. Swift To Doctor Delany 6 When..first he hears The Bullets whistling round his Ears, Will duck his Head.

1883 J. Gilmour Among Mongols xxi. 263 We..ducked our heads, and hurried into the tent.

5. duck up (Nautical): To raise with a jerk, haul up (a sail that obstructs the steersman's view).

ΚΠ

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) (at cited word) ‘Duck up the Clew-lines of those Sails’.

6. transitive and intransitive. In the game of Bridge (see quots.).

ΚΠ

1905 R. F. Foster Compl. Bridge 263 Ducking..is refusing to part with the command of your own suit, and is usually resorted to in situations in which no finesse is possible.

1905 R. F. Foster Compl. Bridge 264 The dealer sees that it is impossible to catch the K, Q, 10 of spades, so he ducks the suit by leading a small card.

1905 R. F. Foster Compl. Bridge 266 As there is no card in dummy's hand but the club ace that will bring the suit into play, that card must be kept as a re-entry until the third round, and the first two rounds of the suit must be ducked.

1905 R. F. Foster Compl. Bridge 312 Ducking.—Refusing to win tricks when able to do so.

1928 Daily Express 27 Aug. 4 You can frequently make the most of a suit by deliberately losing the first trick. This method of play, called ‘ducking’, is founded not only on the law of average probabilities but also on the expectation that the cards are normally distributed.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	duck
释义	duckn.¹ Brit. /dʌk/, U.S. /dək/ Forms: α. Old English duce, Middle English duk, Middle English– duck (Middle English dukke, 1500s ducke). β. Middle English doke (Middle English dooke, 1500s– Scottish duke, duk, duik ( deuk). γ. Middle English douk, Middle English–1500s dowk. Etymology: Old English duce (? dúce ), < u- (or ū- ) grade of dúcan to duck v., dive; compare Danish duk-and* lit. dive-duck (and = duck), Swedish dyk-fågel lit. dive-fowl, diver; and the synonyms under ducker n.¹The phonological history presents some difficulties, especially owing to uncertainty whether the Old English vowel was u or ú , and the development of the three Middle English types: dukke , duk , corresponding to modern duck ; dōke , dook , corresponding to modern Scots duik /dʏk/; douke , dowke . Compare, for the forms, brook v.¹ and dove n.; and see Luick, Untersuch. zur Engl. Lautgeschichte (1896) §388, 553. I. Primary sense. 1. a. A swimming bird of the genus Anas and kindred genera of the family Anatidæ, of which species are found all over the world.Without distinctive addition or context, the word is applied to the common domestic duck, a domesticated form of the wild duck or mallard n. ( Anas boscas). The other species (about 125 in number, distributed among some 40 genera) are distinguished by adjuncts expressing colour, appearance, or habits, as black duck, brown duck, crested duck, dusky duck, fishing duck, little duck, long-tailed duck, noisy duck, painted duck, pied duck, red-headed duck, ring-necked duck, ruddy duck, sleepy duck, swallow-tailed duck, tufted duck, velvet duck, whistling duck, white-faced duck, etc.; habitat, as channel-duck, creek-duck, mire-duck, moss-duck, mountain-duck, river-duck, rock-duck, sea-duck, shoal-duck, surf duck, tree-duck, wood-duck; native region, as American duck, English duck, French duck, German duck, Labrador duck, Norway duck; or by more distinctive premodifiers as canvas-back duck, St. Cuthbert's duck n., eider-duck, harlequin duck, herald-, maiden-, mandarin duck n., Muscovy duck n. or musk duck n., mussel duck n., penguin duck n., squawk-duck n., etc., see in their alphabetical places. In its widest technical sense, the name includes the gadwalls, garganeys, golden-eyes, pintails, pochards, scaups, scoters, sheldrakes, shovellers, spoonbills, teal, whistlewings, widgeons, and other related groups; the geese and goosanders, though Anatidæ, are not usually called ‘ducks’.grey duck: see first element. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun] endea700 duck967 diga1475 redshank1567 dilly1831 quacker1832 quack1865 quack quack1870 anatine1875 α. 967 in Kemble Cod. Dipl. No. 538. III. 18 Andlang Osrices pulle þæt hit cymþ on ducan seaþe; of ducan seaþe þæt hit cymþ on Rischale. 1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xvii. 62 A-syde he gan hym drawe Dredfully..as duk [v.r. 5 MSS. doke] doth fram þe faucoun. a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 5 Henne-ban sede duckys wylle kylle. 1483 Cath. Angl. 110/2 A Dukke, anas. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 215/2 Ducke a foule, canne. Duke of the ryver, cannette. 1564 J. Rastell Confut. Serm. M. Iuell f. 37^v He is more neerer a ducke then a duke. a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. ii. 130 Though thou canst swim like a Ducke, thou art made like a Goose. View more context for this quotation 1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. ii. ii. 69 Whistling Ducks are somewhat less than our Common Duck... In flying, their Wings make a pretty sort of loud whistling Noise. 1845 H. B. Hirst Poems 162 Brooding black-duck from her nest of turf In the tall sedge. 1847 W. B. Carpenter Zool.: Systematic Acct. I. §455 The Eiders are the largest of all the Ducks, being as weighty as the average of Geese. collective plural.1858 Earl of Malmesbury Mem. Ex-Minister (1884) II. 145 It would do for firing into a flock of duck.β. 1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. v. 58 He schulde..Drinken bote with þe Doke [So B. v. 75. 1393 C. vii. 174 douke] and dyne but ones.14.. in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 563 Anas, a doke.c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 58 Hennes, goos, and dokis.c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 125/2 Dooke, byrde (K. doke), anas.1486 Bk. St. Albans D ij b Tame Dookes.1486 Bk. St. Albans F vj A badelyng of Dokys.a1513 W. Dunbar Ballat Abbot of Tungland in Poems (1998) I. 59 Thre dayis in dub amang the dukis.c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) vi. 31 The dukis cryit quaik.1630–56 R. Gordon Geneal. Hist. Earldom Sutherland Duke, draig, widgeon, teale..and all other kinds of wildfowl.1897 N.E.D. at Duck Mod. Sc. duik.] γ. 1362 [see β. ]. c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. xxix^v/1 Swannes gies or dowkis. b. spec. The female of this fowl: the male being the drake n.¹In the domestic state the females greatly exceed in number, hence duck serves at once as the name of the female and of the race, drake being a specific term of sex. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun] > female duckc1405 c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 390 Thanne shaltow swymme as murye..As dooth the white doke after his drake. ?c1475 Sqr. lowe Degre 320 The tele, the ducke and the drake. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlix Take hede howe thy hennes, duckes, and gees do ley. 1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. iii. iv. 380 Between the Duck and the Drake there is this difference, that he hath growing on his Rump certain erect feathers..which she hath not. 1897 N.E.D. at Duck Mod. A flock of ducks swimming behind their drake. c. The flesh of this fowl. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > fowls > [noun] > duck mallarda1425 teal?c1475 duck1774 canard1913 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VI. 111 Plutarch assures us, that Cato kept his whole family in health, by feeding them with duck whenever they threatened to be out of order. d. Historical. (More fully duck-weight n. at Compounds 2a.) A stone or clay figure of a duck used as a weight in ancient Assyria and Babylonia. ΚΠ 1849 A. H. Layard Monuments of Nineveh 21 A duck, in baked clay, with..a cuneiform inscription... The letters may denote a numeral.] 1853 A. H. Layard Discov. Nineveh & Babylon xxv. 601 The actual weight of the large ducks in the British Museum being 480 oz. troy. e. elliptical. Duck-shot. ΚΠ 1687 S. Sewall Let. Bk. 64 Six tone of shott, of which three ton Goose, two tone Duck, one pigeon. 1775 Jrnls. Cont. Congr. 3 426 Procure a quantity of duck and powder. 1845 W. G. Simms Wigwam & Cabin 2nd Ser. 100 Draw the loads, Scip, and put in some of the high duck. 2. In phrases and proverbial sayings. duck's weather, fine day for ducks, etc., referring to wet weather; like a duck in thunder, like a (dying) duck in a thunderstorm: having a forlorn and hopeless appearance; like water off (or from) a duck's back, like (or as) a duck (takes) to water: easily, readily; does (or will, would) a duck swim?: a colloquial phrase of enthusiastic acceptance or confirmation. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > in vain [phrase] > having no effect upon a person like water off (or from) a duck's back1871 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Apprendre (An idle, vaine, or needlesse labour) we say, to teach his grandame to grope ducks. a1656 R. Capel in C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David (1870) I. Ps. ix. 18 Money, which lying long in the bank, comes home at last with a duck in its mouth. 1786 ‘P. Pindar’ Lyric Odes for 1785 (new ed.) vii. 21 Gaping upon Tom's thumb, with me in wonder; The rabble rais'd its eyes—like ducks in thunder. 1802 C. Wilmot Irish Peer on Continent (1920) 35 On asking him what fault he had to find with her, he look'd ‘like a Duck in Thunder’, and made me instinctively wave [sic] the investigation. 1823 W. Scott Peveril I. xi. 269 Closed her eyes like a dying fowl—turned them up like a duck in a thunder-storm. 1824 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 16 347 The thing passed off like water from a duck's back. 1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. ii. 81 Mr. Swiveller..observed that last week was a fine week for the ducks, and this week was a fine week for the dust. 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy iv. 35 ‘What do you say..will you dine with me?’ ‘Will a duck swim?’ chuckled out Jack Horan. 1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies v. 188 Then he..turned up his eyes like a duck in thunder. 1867 A. D. Richardson Beyond Mississippi xiv. 177 He takes to them as instinctively as a young duck to water. 1871 C. Kingsley Lett. (1877) II. 368 All else is a ‘paralogism’ and runs off them like water off a duck's back. 1880 J. Payn Confidential Agent III. 161 Look less like a duck in a thunderstorm. 1885 Boy's Own Paper 23 May 542/3 ‘Perhaps you would not object to drinking the queen's health?’ Would a duck swim? 1889 L. B. Walford Stiff-necked Generation (1891) 321 It had all passed off like water off a duck's back. 1891 L. T. Meade Sweet Girl Graduate xvi. 133 ‘Do you really think that Maggie Oliphant cares for Mr. Hammond?’..‘Cares for him!.. Does a duck swim? Does a baby like sweet things?’ 1893 Scribner's Mag. Aug. 227/2 She has taken to society as a duck takes to water. 1894 J. D. Astley Fifty Years of my Life I. 22 I always took to shooting like a duck to water. 1906 ‘O. Henry’ Four Million (1916) 82 ‘With you, Dempsey?’ she stammered. ‘Say—will a duck swim?’ 1917 J. C. Bridge Cheshire Proverbs 72 He winks and thinks like a duck i' thunner. 1933 A. Christie Lord Edgware Dies xxii. 183 You did look for all the world like a dying duck in a thunderstorm. 1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day vi. 107 I had taken to vice like a duck to water, but it ran off me like water from a duck's back. 1971 ‘A. Gilbert’ Tenant for Tomb i. 8 The Bear Lady said brightly that it was a nice day for the ducks. II. Transferred uses. 3. a. A term of endearment. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > terms of endearment > [noun] darlingc888 belamy?c1225 culver?c1225 dearc1230 sweetheartc1290 heartc1300 sweetc1330 honeya1375 dovec1386 jewelc1400 birdc1405 cinnamonc1405 honeycombc1405 lovec1405 wantonc1450 mulling?a1475 daisyc1485 crowdy-mowdy?a1513 honeysop?a1513 powsowdie?a1513 suckler?a1513 foolc1525 buttinga1529 whitinga1529 beautiful1534 turtle-dove1535 soula1538 heartikin1540 bully?1548 turtle1548 lamba1556 nyletc1557 sweet-lovea1560 coz1563 ding-ding1564 pugs1566 golpol1568 sparling1570 lover1573 pug1580 bulkin1582 mopsy1582 chuck1589 bonny1594 chick1594 sweetikin1596 ladybird1597 angel1598 muss1598 pinkany1599 sweetkin1599 duck1600 joy1600 sparrowc1600 sucket1605 nutting1606 chuckaby1607 tickling1607 bagpudding1608 heartling1608 chucking1609 dainty1611 flittermouse1612 honeysuckle1613 fubs1614 bawcocka1616 pretty1616 old thinga1625 bun1627 duckling1630 bulchin1633 bulch?c1640 sweetling1648 friscoa1652 ding-dongs1662 buntinga1668 cocky1680 dearie1681 chucky1683 lovey1684 machree1689 nykin1693 pinkaninny1696 nug1699 hinny1724 puss1753 pet1767 dovey1769 sweetie1778 lovey-dovey1781 lovely1791 ducky1819 toy1822 acushla1825 alanna1825 treat1825 amigo1830 honey child1832 macushla1834 cabbage1840 honey-bunch1874 angel pie1878 m'dear1887 bach1889 honey baby1895 prawn1895 hon1896 so-and-so1897 cariad1899 pumpkin1900 honey-bun1902 pussums1912 snookums1919 treasure1920 wogger1922 amico1929 sugar1930 baby cake1949 angel cake1951 lamb-chop1962 petal1974 bae2006 1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream v. i. 276 O dainty duck, o deare! View more context for this quotation 1608 T. Middleton Familie of Love (new ed.) i. sig. B2 And now sweete duck know I haue beene for my cousin Gerardines Will. a1641 T. Heywood Captives (1953) i. iii. 25 Ffor see you, not too women, daynty ducks. 1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. xi. 147 How is he now, my duck of diamonds? 1880 C. H. Spurgeon Serm. XXVI. 46 Her child..was so much her ‘duck’ that he grew up to be a goose. b. Often a duck of a…; and applied to things as well as persons. ΚΠ 1819 M. Wilmot Let. 26 Nov. (1935) 31 I shall presently throw my letter into the long drawer at the top of my duck of a secretaire. 1841 Punch 18 Sept. 112/1 If our remarks were made with an affectionate eye to the young ladies of the satin-album-loving school, we should assuredly style this ‘a duck of a picture’. ?1884 Rede's Sixteen String Jack (new ed.) i. ii Oh, isn't he a duck of a fellow? 1891 J. S. Farmer Slang (at cited word) A duck of a bonnet. c. With hypocoristic suffix -s. Used as a familiar form of address. ΚΠ 1936 ‘J. Curtis’ Gilt Kid viii. 81 She crossed her legs. Her thighs were white and shapeless. ‘Got a fag, ducks?’ 1958 E. Hyams Taking it Easy 200 Talked like you 'e did, ducks. 1958 Times 1 Oct. 11/6 One is waited on; called ‘sir’, not ‘ducks’. 1963 Times 13 Feb. 11/4 The comfortable northern friendliness of the expression ‘ducks’ as employed by comfortable northern females to all and sundry—to warm the heart towards the species. 4. a. Short for lame duck at sense 9. b. A fellow, ‘customer’. U.S. slang. ΚΠ 1857 Phœnix (Sacramento, Calif.) 11 Oct. 4/1 No such ‘duck’ as this could nab the ‘Ubiquitous’. 1872 ‘M. Twain’ Roughing It xlvii. 331 Are you the duck that runs the gospel-mill next door? 1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy ix. 125 I can't quite make out this other duck, but I reckon he's some big auger. 1904 W. H. Smith Promoters v. 100 As you said, Goldsby, Slosher's a slick duck. c. (See quots.) U.S. slang. ΚΠ 1938 Amer. Speech 13 156/1 Duck, a flying boat. 1942 E. Colby Army Talk 76 Ducks. Air Corps men..give the name to amphibian airplanes capable of landing on water or ground. 5. Anglo-Indian slang. A nickname for soldiers of the Bombay Presidency. ΚΠ 1803 M. Elphinstone in T. E. Colebrooke Life Sir M. Elphinstone (1884) I. 53 (Y. Supp.) They have neither the comforts of a Bengal army, nor do they rough it, like the Ducks. 1879 C. R. Low Afghan War i. 97 The ‘Ducks’ (as the Bombay troops are called) enjoy it much. 6. A boy's game, also called duckstone, duckiestone; also one of the stones used in this game, and sometimes a player. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > other children's games > [noun] > stone-throwing games duck and drake1585 dust-point1611 duck1821 duck's-off1888 knicker1900 1821 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Aug. 35/2 The duck is a small stone placed on a larger, and attempted to be hit off by the players at the distance of a few paces. 1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Duck, a game. 1893 Cassell's Bk. Sports & Pastimes 255 The players [at Duckstone] then, standing at home, ‘pink for duck’, that is, they throw their stones towards the block, and he whose stone remains farthest from the block is first duck. 7. Cricket slang. (Short for duck's egg n.). No score, nought; also, a player who fails to score. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [noun] > running > no score by batsman spectacles1835 egg1861 nought1862 pair1862 duck's egg1863 round O1863 duck1868 blob1889 balloon1906 1868 St. Paul's Mag. in Daily News 24 Aug. You see..that his fear of a ‘duck’—as by a pardonable contraction from duck-egg a nought is called in cricket-play—outweighs all other earthly considerations. 1880 Daily Tel. 24 Sept. Life is very much like cricket: Some get scores and some ‘a duck’. 1885 Daily Rev. (Edinb.) 17 Aug. 3/5 The former batter proved a duck. 8. dialect and slang. (See quots.) ΚΠ 1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 152 Duck, a bundle of bits of the ‘stickings’ of beef sold for food to the London poor. A faggot. 1876 C. C. Robinson Gloss. Words Dial. Mid-Yorks. Duck, a faggot. 9. lame duck: a disabled person or thing: spec. (Stock Market slang): one who cannot meet his financial engagements; a defaulter. Also in extended use and, short, duck. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > [noun] > failure to meet obligations > one who deficient1697 lame duck1761 defaulter1808 man of straw1823 waddler1831 shicer1896 skip1915 shyster1938 society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > dealer in stocks and shares > type of profit taker1552 bull1714 bear1718 fund-monger1734 lame duck1806 stag1845 taker-in1852 cornerer1869 wrecker1876 corner-man1881 market-rigger1881 boursocrat1882 offeror1882 ribbon clerk1882 inflater1884 manipulator1888 underwriter1889 kangaroo1896 piker1898 share pusher1898 specialist1900 tailer1900 writer1906 placee1953 corporate raider1955 tippee1961 raider1972 bottom fisher1974 white knight1978 greenmailer1984 the world > action or operation > ability > inability > [noun] > incapable or incompetent person > lacking resource or initiative stick-in-the-mud1832 lame duck1889 1761 H. Walpole Lett. to H. Mann 28 Dec. (1843) I. 60 Do you know what a Bull, and a Bear, and a Lame Duck are? 1771 D. Garrick in S. Foote Maid of Bath Prol. Change-Alley bankrupts waddle out lame ducks! 1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. xii. 312 Attending at the Stock-exchange on settling-day amidst the quack of Ducks, the bellowings of Bulls, and the growls of Bears. 1832 T. B. Macaulay Mirabeau in Misc. (1860) II. 95 Frauds of which a lame duck on the Stock exchange would be ashamed. 1889 C. D. Warner Little Journey World xvii Do you think I have time to attend to every poor duck? 1929 W. J. Locke Jorico 226 She was something of a lame duck of a craft. 10. a. Bombay duck = bummalo n. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > order Siluriformes (catfish) > [noun] > member of family Harpodontidae (bummalo) bummalo1698 ladyfish1712 Bombay duck1850 sea-duck1883 the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > seafood > [noun] > fish > cured fish > dried fish stockfish1290 spalderlingc1340 titling1386 woke fish1386 salpa?1527 spelding1537 lobfish1538 bacalao1555 Poor John1589 buck-horn1602 poorjack1623 Jacka1625 spalding1776 speldring1802 Digby1829 klipfish1835 Bombay duck1850 scale-fish1856 skrae-fish1867 rockfish1876 katsuobushi1891 1850 F. Mason Nat. Productions Burmah 273 A fish nearly related to the salmon is dried and exported in large quantities from Bombay, and has acquired the name of Bombay Ducks. 1879 F. S. Bridges Round World in Six Months 214 ‘Bombay Ducks’ are always served with curry. These are small dried fish of a peculiar flavour, and are quite dry and crisp. b. Australian. Sydney duck: a convict. ΘΚΠ society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] prisona1225 prisonerc1384 enpresonéc1425 bird1580 warder1584 canary bird1593 penitentiala1633 convict1786 chum1819 lag1819 lagger1819 new chum1819 nut-brown1835 collegian1837 canary1840 Sydney duck1873 forty1879 zebra1882 con1893 yardbird1956 zek1968 1873 J. Miller Life amongst Modocs (1876) viii. 120 There are some hard names given on the Pacific; but when you call a man a ‘Sydney duck’ it is well understood that you mean blood. Compounds C1. a. General attributive. duck-dance n. ΚΠ 1884 Mag. of Art Feb. 143/2 Indulging in a most ungraceful duck-dance. duck-gun n. ΚΠ 1813 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 85 I left my duck gun and went to Whitchurch. 1846 W. Greener Sci. Gunnery (new ed.) 285 Never make duck-guns above seven-eights in the bore. duck-house n. ΚΠ 1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. i. iii. 45 Like so many Duck-houses, all wet and dirty. duck-pond n. ΚΠ 1831 T. L. Peacock Crotchet Castle 293 To live on a gravelly hill—without so much as a duck-pond within ten miles of him. duck-pool n. ΚΠ 1601 in J. Barmby Memorials St. Giles's, Durham (1896) 29 For castinge of the dooke poole and for dammynge the water at giles bridge—xxd. duck-puddle n. ΚΠ 1893 A. Sinclair & W. Henry Swimming (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 337 Harrow..Its swimming-pond, named the ‘duck-puddle’, is one of the finest open-air baths in England. duck-tribe n. b. Objective and objective genitive. duck-decoying n. ΚΠ 1886 Athenæum 21 Aug. 230/3 Most readers of sporting books have some idea of duck-decoying. duck-fattener n. ΚΠ 1895 Westm. Gaz. 9 May 3/1 Duck fatteners have to pay highly for sittings of eggs. duck-fattening n. duck-hunt n. ΚΠ 1847 C. Lanman Summer in Wilderness xxviii. 196 I..started on a duck hunt down the river Raisin. duck-hunter n. duck-hunting n. ΚΠ 1730 Index of Addison's Wks. Duckhunting, what Mr. Bayle compares to it. 1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days ii. iv. 303 They had never been duck-hunting there since. duck-keeper n. ΚΠ 1696 London Gaz. No. 3175/4 Mr. Webbs, the Duck-keeper in St. James's Park. duck-rearer n. duck-rearing n. duck-shooter n. ΚΠ 1792 W. Scott Let. 10 Sept. (1932) I. 22 I have turned a keen duck shooter, though my success is not very great. 1945 C. Mann in B. James Austral. Short Stories (1963) 72 Even old duck-shooters have now almost got used to them. duck-shooting n. ΚΠ 1792 W. Scott Let. 30 Sept. (1932) I. 26 I have quite given up duck-shooting for the season. 1859 J. Conway Lett. from Highlands viii. 73 A day's duck-shooting. c. Similative. duck-foot adj. ΚΠ 1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 198 They killed more Fowls..of the Duck-foot Kind. duck-footed adj. duck-hearted adj. duck-like adj. duck-toed adj. C2. a. Special combinations. Also duck and drake n., duck-bill n., duck's bill n., duck's egg n. duck-chicken n. one hatched by a hen. ΚΠ 1678 T. Jones Of Heart & Soveraign 201 Neither understood the other no more than duck-chickens their hen-dam, recalling them from connatural element. duck-dive n. a vertical dive down into water by a swimmer; hence as v. intransitive, to make such a dive. ΚΠ 1942 G. Mitchell Laurels are Poison ix. 99 She..began to come upstream in a series of duck-dives, testing the depth of the water. 1953 L. Charteris in J. Merril Off Beaten Orbit (1959) 114 Any good swimmer can duck-dive. 1969 ‘I. Drummond’ Man with Tiny Head xv. 176 Nigel took a deep breath, duck-dived and swam under water. duck-gravel n. (see quot.). ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > stone > stony material > [noun] > gravel or shingle > gravel > type of flood gravelc1420 river gravel1600 blue metal1699 slither1811 flint-gravel1865 plateau gravel1872 duck-gravel1885 peastone1909 pea gravel1911 1885 Daily News 14 July 2/2 Duck-gravel, a deposit like pumicestone, into which the ducks push their bills. Every ducker's place has a lump of this duck-gravel, a coralline stuff..like little oyster shells. duck-ladder n. a kind of short ladder. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > ladder > [noun] > small ladder eschellett1578 duck-ladder1883 1883 Law Times Rep. 49 139/1 He took a shorter ladder (called a duck ladder) and placed this duck ladder against the roof. duck-legged adj. having unusually short legs: so duck-legs. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > leg > [adjective] > types of > having jamby?a1400 well-legged1566 spindle-shankedc1600 spindle-shank1604 post-legged1608 splay-legged1638 duck-legged1650 stalk-legged1659 long-limbed1660 sharp-shinned1704 spindle-legged1710 leggy1776 red-legged1817 flamingo-legged1862 thick-legged1873 split-up1874 pin-legged1884 lank-legged1906 straddly1921 1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis 263 Or, why so long, doe they make men Duck~leg'd? 1714 D. Manley Adventures of Rivella 45 Conscious of his duck Legs and long Coat. 1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. II. vi. i. 75 A short duck legged little trojan, was equipped in a huge pair of the general's cast off breeches. duck-oil n. water, moisture (Halliwell). duck arse n. (also duck's arse, duck ass, duck's ass) slang a style of haircut in which the hair at the back of the head is shaped like a duck's tail (cf. D.A. n. at D n. Initialisms 3a. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > other specific styles of hair > for men French cut1583 pigeon wing1753 pompadour1885 D.A.1951 duck anatomy1951 duck-tail1955 Tony Curtis1956 duck arse1960 duck behind1961 comb-over1980 mullet1994 1960 H. Wentworth & S. B. Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 165/2 Duck's ass,..a boy's haircut. 1969 N. Cohn Pop from Beginning vi. 55 He looked like another sub-Elvis, smooth flesh and duck-ass hair. duck anatomy n. (also duck's anatomy) = duck arse n. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > other specific styles of hair > for men French cut1583 pigeon wing1753 pompadour1885 D.A.1951 duck anatomy1951 duck-tail1955 Tony Curtis1956 duck arse1960 duck behind1961 comb-over1980 mullet1994 1951 Sunday Pictorial 29 Oct. The D.A. therefore stands for Duck's Anatomy—or some such word. duck behind n. (also duck's behind) = duck arse n. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > other specific styles of hair > for men French cut1583 pigeon wing1753 pompadour1885 D.A.1951 duck anatomy1951 duck-tail1955 Tony Curtis1956 duck arse1960 duck behind1961 comb-over1980 mullet1994 1961 J. I. M. Stewart Man who won Pools iv. 48 His girl had..made him quit that Duck's Behind for a straight sleeking back with oil. duck's disease n. (also ducks' disease) colloquial a facetious expression for shortness of leg. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > leg > [noun] > types of > state of having legginess1832 duck's disease1925 1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words Ducks' disease, short-legged. 1960 B. Marshall Divided Lady i. vi. 28 Plinio, the barman with duck's disease, came running up. duck-disease n. = duck's disease n. ΚΠ 1928 S. Vines Humours Unreconciled viii. 103 Mr. Sheepshanks..soon got his host expanding a theory of the ‘duck-disease’, as he facetiously called the shortness of leg from which the Japanese were suffering. duck-shot n. shot of a size suitable for shooting wild ducks. ΚΠ 1851 R. Glisan Jrnl. Army Life (1874) vi. 57 I had a fine opportunity to plunge a whole charge of duck shot into his side. duck-shover n. Australian and New Zealand slang a cabman who does not wait his turn in the rank, but touts for passengers; also transferred (see quot. 1941). ΘΚΠ society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > transport by vehicles plying for hire > [noun] > driving or hiring of cabs > driver of hired cab cab driver1825 cabman1828 cabbie1829 duck-shover1898 mini-man1961 1898 E. E. Morris Austral Eng. Duck-shover. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 18 Jan. 3/2 A swanker and a duck~shover. 1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 26 Duckshover, one who adopts unfair business methods. duck-shove v. ΚΠ 1960 Spectator 4 Nov. 677 As the leader of the [New Zealand] Opposition complained, the Government has ‘dodged and duckshoved’ the issue. 1969 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 31 Aug. 5/1 Some Cabinet Ministers said that most local authorities were ‘duck shoving’ on the State's litter problem. duck-shoving n. ΚΠ 1870 Notes & Queries 4th Ser. VI. 111 ‘Duck-shoving’..is the term used by our Melbourne cabmen to express the unprofessional trick of breaking the rank, in order to push past the cabman on the stand for the purpose of picking up a stray passenger or so. 1896 Otago Daily Times (N.Z.) 25 Jan. 3/6 ‘Duck shoving’, a process of getting passengers which operated unfairly against the cabmen who stayed on the licensed stand and obeyed the by-law. duck's-off n. the game duck or duckstone. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > other children's games > [noun] > stone-throwing games duck and drake1585 dust-point1611 duck1821 duck's-off1888 knicker1900 1888–9 Longman's Mag. 13 516 Another [game] named ‘ducks-off’ consisted in setting on a large flat stone a round stone..which from a certain distance one strove to knock off. duck soup n. slang (originally and chiefly U.S.) something requiring little effort; a person easy to overcome or cheat; a ‘cinch’. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > easiness > [noun] > that which is easy ball play?c1225 child's gamec1380 boys' play1538 walkover1861 picnic1870 pudding1884 cakewalk1886 pie1886 cinch1888 snipa1890 pushover1891 pinch1897 sitter1898 pipe1902 five-finger exercise1903 duck soup1912 pud1917 breeze1928 kid stuff1929 soda1930 piece of cake1936 doddle1937 snack1941 stroll1942 piece of piss1949 waltz1968 1912 A. H. Lewis Apaches N.Y. iv. 84 ‘Them Gophers are as tough a bunch as ever comes down the pike.’ ‘Tough nothin'!’ returned Slimmy: ‘they'll be duck soup to Ike.’ 1929 D. Hammett Red Harvest xxvi. 257 it was a juicy row, while it lasted—no duck soup for the coppers at that. 1966 C. S. Ogilvy & J. T. Anderson Excursions Number Theory i. 4 The number 307 comes out, in binary notation, to be 100110011 which would not have the convenience of 307 at the grocery store, perhaps, but is duck soup for the Computer. 1966 B. E. Wallace Murder in Touraine xvii. 52 Now all he had to do..was to..avoid a guard: it was going to be duck soup if you were the right kind of duck. duck-tail n. (also ducktail) colloquial (a) = duck arse n. (see above); (b) South African a young hooligan or ‘teddy-boy’. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > other specific styles of hair > for men French cut1583 pigeon wing1753 pompadour1885 D.A.1951 duck anatomy1951 duck-tail1955 Tony Curtis1956 duck arse1960 duck behind1961 comb-over1980 mullet1994 1955 D. Keene Who has Wilma Lathrop? (1966) xi. 129 The blond youth was in this up to his ducktail haircut. 1959 Chambers's 20th Cent. Dict. Add. Ducktail, the white Teddy Boy of South Africa. 1960 Guardian 28 Mar. 1/2 He [sc. Dr. Verwoerd] described South Africa's overseas critics as ‘the ducktails (Teddy boys) of the political world’. 1961 Personality (Durban) 16 May 27 I have long since ceased to use the label ‘Teddy boy’ and now think entirely in terms of ‘ducktails’. 1961 Listener 7 Sept. 343/2 The ‘stilyagi’ with their tight trousers and duck-tail hair-dos. 1968 N.Y. Rev. Books 7 Nov. 3/3 He was buying a bottle of hair-oil..to soothe his ducktail. duck-walk n. a duckboard track (see duckboard n.). ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > track, trail, or path > [noun] > with specific surface cinder-path1838 cinder track1887 dirt track1902 duck-walk1915 duckboard1917 1915 Blackwood's Mag. Apr. 449/1 Where there are no duck-walks, we employ planks laid across the mud. 1917 War Illustr. 28 Apr. 239/2 The ‘duck-walk’ is laid for easy crossing of difficult surfaces. duck-weight n. = 1d. duck-wife n. a woman who has charge of ducks. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > poultry-keeping > [noun] > keeper of poultry > keeper of ducks duck-wife1869 ducker1885 1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. x. 109 She counted them like a good duck-wife. b. Esp. in names of animals and plants. Also duck-hawk n., duckweed n., etc. duck-ant n. the white ant or termite. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Isoptera > member(s) of (termites) white ant1625 wood-ant1709 termes1773 termite1781 termite ant1815 duck-ant1851 magnetic termite1935 mudguts1952 1851 P. H. Gosse Naturalist's Sojourn Jamaica 283 A fragment of the earthy nest of the Duck-ants (Termites). duck-eagle n. a South African species of eagle. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) > family Accipitridae (hawks, etc.) > [noun] > eagles > other types of duck-eagle1731 eagle-hawk1829 martial eagle1829 lammervanger1830 serpent eagle187. 1731 G. Medley tr. P. Kolb Present State Cape Good-Hope II. 136 There is another sort of eagle in the Cape countries which the naturalists call Aquila anataria, or the Duck-Eagle. duck-mole n. the Duck-billed Platypus. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Implacenta > [noun] > group Prototheria or Monotremata > duck-billed platypus platypus1799 ornithorhynchus1800 water mole1800 paradox1815 duck-bill1840 tambreet1840 duck-billed platypus1847 duck-mole1875 1875 tr. E. O. Schmidt Doctr. Descent & Darwinism 237 The Ornithorhyncus, or duck-mole of Tasmania. duck-mud n. Crow-silk. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > algae > [noun] > silkweeds crow-silk1721 conferva1758 moor-ball1777 Oscillatoria1828 water flannel1843 conferval1850 confervoid1855 silkweed1857 duck-mud1884 1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants Duck-mud, conferva rivularis and other delicate green-spored Algæ. duck's foot n. a local name of Lady's Mantle; also the American May-apple, Podophyllum peltatum. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Ranunculaceae (crowfoot and allies) > [noun] > podophyllum or May-apple mayapple1731 duck's foot1755 Indian apple1833 hog apple1837 lime-plant1844 Podophyllum1844 mandrake1845–50 wild lemon1882 1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Ducksfoot, black snakeroot, or Mayapple. Thesaurus » Categories » duck-snipe n. Bahamas the willet, Symphemia semipalmata. duck-wheat n. = duck-bill wheat at duck-bill n. a. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > wheat > types of wheat grain or plant spelta1000 farc1420 ador?1440 flaxen wheat?1523 Peak-wheat?1523 red wheat?1523 white wheat?1523 duck-bill wheat1553 zea1562 alica1565 buck1577 amelcorn1578 horse-flower1578 tiphe1578 pollard1580 rivet1580 Saracen's corn1585 French wheat1593 Lammas-wheat1594 starch corn1597 St. Peter's corn1597 frumenty1600 secourgeon1600 polwheat1601 duck-wheat1611 kidneys of wheat1611 ograve wheat1616 soft wheat1640 cone-wheat1677 Lammas1677 Poland wheat1686 Saracen corn1687 pole rivet1707 Smyrna wheat1735 hard wheat1757 hen corn1765 velvet wheat1771 white straw1771 nonpareil1805 thick-set wheat1808 cone1826 farro1828 Polish wheat1832 velvet-ear wheat1837 sarrasin1840 mummy wheat1842 snowdrop1844 Red Fife1857 flint-wheat1859 dinkel1866 thick-set1875 spring1884 macaroni wheat1901 einkorn1904 marquis1906 durum1908 emmer1908 hedgehog wheat1909 speltoid1939 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Bled rouge, ordinarie red wheat; called by Kentishmen, Duck-wheat. Draft additions December 2016 duck dive n. Surfing a manoeuvre used to dive beneath and so avoid an oncoming wave, in which the surfboard is pushed underwater nose first as the wave passes. ΚΠ 1982 Surfer Apr. 23 Master the duck dive and it will prove a valuable addition to your repertoire, as important as any surfing maneuver. 2001 Carve Sept. 62/2 The secret of a good duck dive is timing the push on the tail to coincide with the wave's natural energy flow, so you go down and then pop out of the back. 2013 Red Bull. Aug. 10/1 (caption) The ‘duck dive’ is a surfer's plunge beneath a wave to avoid the impact of a wall of water. Draft additions December 2016 duck-dive v. Surfing (a) intransitive to dive beneath and so avoid an oncoming wave by pushing one's surfboard underwater nose first as the wave passes; (b) transitive to push (one's surfboard) beneath a wave in such a way; (also) to dive beneath (a wave) in such a way. ΚΠ 1987 Sydney Morning Herald 8 July 22/5 The narrow nose on my surfboard allows a woman to paddle and duck-dive easily. 1995 Irish Times 9 June 15/6 Duck-dive your board through the impact zone that is breaking continuously at 6 to 10 feet. 2001 L. Weiss & J. Stockwell Blue Crush (film script) (O.E.D. Archive) 45 Anne Marie duck-dives under the breaking wave, but Matt gets it right on the head, the wave ripping him from his board. 2010 S. Wyshynski Poser 228 I turned to see a tidal wave obscure the horizon... I'd have to try to duck-dive it. Draft additions December 2016 duck-diving n. Surfing the action or practice of performing a duck dive (duck dive n. at Additions). Π 1982 Surfer Apr. 22 Providing that the wave isn't too powerful, duck diving is the most effective method of escaping the turbulence of a breaking wave. 1995 Canberra Times 3 Mar. 2/1 Pipeline legend Tom Carroll gives tips on duck-diving—one of the most difficult techniques to master. 2006 T. Anderson Riding Magic Carpet (2008) Gloss. 290 Duck-diving involves deliberately sinking your board, and then pushing yourself down before it resurfaces. It's not easy! This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online June 2022). duckn.² Forms: Also 1600s douke. Etymology: < duck v. An act of ducking. 1. A quick plunge, a dip. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [noun] > quick plunge or dip into water duck1836 1836 C. J. Latrobe in W. H. Prescott Hist. Conquest Mexico I. i. vi. 183/2 (note) Two singular basins..not large enough for any monarch bigger than Oberon to take a duck in. 1876 World No. 113. 18 The elder women content themselves with a few ducks as the waves break over them. 2. An instantaneous lowering of head or body; a rapid jerky bow or obeisance. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [noun] > bending down > prompt or instantaneous ducking1539 duck1554 the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > [noun] > manifestation of respect > bowing, kneeling, or curtseying > a bow or curtsey crookc1330 beckc1375 obediencec1390 obeisancea1393 reverencec1400 inclinationa1425 courtesy1508 curtsy1513 honour1531 leg1548 duck1554 beisance1556 jouk1567 congee1577 crouch1597 humblesso1599 inclinabo1607 salaam1613 dop1616 scrape1628 bowa1656 visit-leg1673 couchee1691 dip1792 bob1825 1554 T. Sampson in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) III. App. xviii. 46 The fond nods, crosses, becks, and ducks. 1637 J. Milton Comus 33 Without duck or nod. a1652 R. Brome New Acad. i. i. 19 in Five New Playes (1659) Be ready with your Napkin, and a lower douke maid. 1802 C. Lamb John Woodvil ii. 35 The ducks, and nods Which weak minds pay to rank. 1879 S. St. John Life Sir J. Brooke 268 The ball rushing over our heads, caused a most undignified duck. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online December 2020). duckn.³ Etymology: Known only from 17th cent.; apparently < 17th cent. Dutch doeck ‘linnen or linnen cloath’ (Hexham 1678); = German tuch, Icelandic dúkr, Swedish duk. 1. A strong untwilled linen (or later, cotton) fabric, lighter and finer than canvas; used for small sails and men's (esp. sailors') outer clothing.In the earlier half of the 19th cent. much worn for trousers. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from choice of fibres > [noun] > cotton or linen > stout or strong > for sails or sailors'clothing pack-duck1545 duck1640 sail-duck1776 ducking1822 1640 Tables Rates & Duties in J. Entick New Hist. London (1766) II. 169 Duck hinderlands, middle good headlock. 1660 Act 12 Chas. II c. 4 Sched. Drilling & pack ducke ye 100 ells cont. 6 score. 1780 T. Jefferson Let. 4 Aug. in Papers (1951) III. 526 What is to be done for tents, I know not. I am assured that very little duck can be got in this country. 1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful I. ii. 27 A shirt of coarse duck. 1883 T. Hardy in Longman's Mag. July 258 The genuine white smock-frock of Russia duck and the whity-brown one of drabbet, are rarely seen now afield. 2. plural. Trousers of this material. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers > types of > made from specific material shiverines1663 nankeen1770 overall1782 corduroys1791 ducks1825 webs1825 kerseys1833 moleskin1836 cord1837 kerseymeres1840 blue jeans1842 grey1860 mole trousers1860 chaparreras1861 Bedford cord1862 velveteens1862 dungarees1872 moles1879 chaps1884 chaparejos1887 oiler1889 greyers1900 flannels1911 Levi's1926 denim1932 chino1943 wrangler1947 Bedfords1954 sweats1956 sweatpants1957 1825 Universal Songster 305 T'other day I saw a goose in white ducks. 1829 Miss Sheridan in Lett. etc. Dk. Somerset (1893) The boys were in white ducks, with lightish green jackets. 1849 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. xxvi. 250 They must be young Pendennis's white ducks. Compounds attributive and in other combinations. Π 1745 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 485/1 Coopers, duck-weavers, hemp-dressers. 1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 403 There is a duck manufactory at Boston. 1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis I. xxxvii. 363 In a blue frock-coat and spotless white duck trowsers. Draft additions August 2001 duck tape n. a strong adhesive tape made of waterproofed cotton fabric (a proprietary name in the United States); cf. duct tape n. at duct n. Additions.In quot. 1899 the sense is apparently ‘a decorative strip of duck’. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > adhesive > [noun] > adhesive tape adhesive tape1887 sticky tape1890 duck tape1899 passepartout1910 durex tape1932 Scotch tape1934 durex1938 Sellotape1949 duct tape1965 1899 Daily Picayune (New Orleans) 8 Feb. 3/5 In the washable suits for later wear pique and duck tape take the lead, especially in white and dark blue. 1902 Brooklyn Daily Eagle 21 Nov. 15/2 Considering..that 100,000 yards of cotton duck tape must be wrapped around the cable [of the Williamsburg bridge] with neatness and exactitude, it may be imagined that this method of cable preservation is quite expensive. 1996 Woman's Day (Sydney) 3 June 19/3 When we decided to move on to our private camp out in the wilds of the Masai Mara, we had a little problem with the nose of the plane, which we had to tape shut with duck tape! This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online September 2018). duckn.⁴ Brit. /dʌk/, U.S. /dək/ Forms: Also D.U.K.W., dukw. Etymology: DUKW is a combination of factory serial letters designating certain features of the vehicle. Originally U.S. An amphibious vehicle (see quots.). ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > military vehicles > [noun] > vehicles for transport of supplies collectively > amphibious, for carrying supplies duck1943 1943 War Illustr. 15 Oct. 301 ‘Ducks’ they are called in soldier slang, and it is easy to see why. In the first place there is something duck-like about these queer motor-barges-cum-trucks which are as much at home on the sea as on the land; and then their factory serial letters placed together spell ‘Dukws’. 1944 Hansard Commons 2 Aug. 1466 The marvellous American invention, the ‘Duck’, spelt D.U.K.W., is a heavy lorry which goes at between 40 and 50 miles per hour along the road, and can plunge into the water and swim out for miles to sea in quite choppy weather. 1945 Manch. Guardian 18 July 5/2 Officially known as ‘Dukws’—a combination of the factory serial letters D for boat, U for lorry body, and KW for lorry chassis—they quickly became known in the Army and Navy as ‘Ducks’. 1945 Ann. Reg. 1944 56 ‘Ducks’, amphibious lorries which were equally at home on land and in the water. 1958 Observer 14 Sept. 1/1 Supply craft might stand offshore and disgorge their cargoes into ducks and other smaller craft. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online March 2022). duckv. Brit. /dʌk/, U.S. /dək/ Forms: α. Middle English (Scottish1500s) duke, Middle English–1500s douke, Middle English–1500s (Scottish and northern dialect–1800s) douk, dowk(e, 1500s (Scottish1600s–1800s) dook; β. 1500s ducke, ( dokk), 1500s– duck. Etymology: The Middle English forms (= /duːk/), correspond to an Old English type dúcan = Middle Dutch, Middle Low German and Low German dûken* (Dutch duiken ), Old High German tûhhan , Middle High German tûchen , German tauchen , a West Germanic strong verb of 2nd ablaut series (with û instead of eu , iu in present stem). This form is still preserved in Scots douk , dook /duk/; but about the middle of the 16th cent., it was shortened in English to duck , probably by assimilation to duck n.¹ Compare however Middle High German and German ducken (Middle High German also tucken, tücken) to duck, dive, etc. < dukjan; also Swedish dyka* to duck, dive. I. intransitive. 1. a. To plunge or dive, or suddenly go down under water, and emerge again; to dip the head rapidly under water. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > move downwards [verb (intransitive)] > dive into water diveOE ducka1400 splunge1839 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 23203 He þat doukeþ ones þer doun. a1400–50 Alexander 4090 It was..bred full..Of dragons..& doukand neddirs. 1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 57 They conne wel also duke in the water after lapwynches and dokys. 1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Ducke vnder the water, vide in dyue. 1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 182 The outward sacrament of dipping or ducking in the water. 1625 P. Heylyn Μικρόκοσμος (rev. ed.) 757 Though to avoid their Darts he sometimes ducked, yet held he still his left hand aboue the water. 1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 48 To Douk, to bathe or plunge under water, to duck. 1890 Spectator 9 Aug. 167/2 It [sc. a torpedo] will be able ‘to duck’ under the defensive nettings carried by men-of-war. 1897 N.E.D. at Duck Mod. Sc. To dook for apples at Hallowe'en. b. To make a sudden descent or dive, not under water. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > move downwards [verb (intransitive)] > come down suddenly dopc1380 duck1553 1553 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Eneados v. xiii. 126 Quhil al the wallis doukis to the ground Under the brayand quhelis, and assiltre. a1851 D. M. Moir Snow ii, in Poet. Wks. (1852) Behold the trees Their fingery boughs stretch out..As they duck and drive about. 1870 C. Dickens Edwin Drood iii. 13 Receiving the foul fiend, when he ducks from its stage into the infernal regions. 2. a. To bend or stoop quickly so as to lower the body or head; to bob; to make a jerking bow; hence, figurative to cringe, yield; so, to duck under. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > move downwards [verb (intransitive)] > bend down > momentarily jouk1513 duck1530 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 526/1 I dowke, I stowpe lowe as a frere doth. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xix. 24 A wicked man can behaue himself humbly, and can douke with his heade. 1539 Surrender of Monasteries in T. Rymer Fœdera (1712) XIV. 611 Dokkyng, Nodding and Beckynge. 1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 57 Douking on all foure vnto him. ?1608 S. Lennard tr. P. Charron Of Wisdome i. xx. 78 To ducke and stoop to all sorts of people. 1713 A. Pope in Guardian 26 June 1/2 He never once Duck'd at the whizz of a Cannon Ball. 1869 R. Browning Ring & Bk. III. viii. 156 Law ducks to Gospel here. 1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch II. iii. xxiii. 7 Eat cold mutton, have to..‘duck under’ in any sort of a way. 1887 W. Besant World Went v. 42 [I] was comforted to see the men at the guns, none of them killed, and none of them ducking. b. To back out, withdraw; to make off, abscond; to default. colloquial (originally U.S.). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from action [verb (intransitive)] > avoid > turn aside from a course of action > back out resile1529 to back out1807 duff1883 duck1896 punk1920 squib1938 bug1952 weasel1956 to wuss out1976 1896 G. Ade Artie ii. 9 I think I'll have to duck on that present. 1900 G. Ade Fables in Slang 42 Having delivered herself of these Helpful Remarks she would Duck. 1910 W. M. Raine Bucky O'Connor 249 Coming through the cañon Del Oro in the night, he ducked; I reckon he's in Mexico now. 1911 H. S. Harrison Queed xxi. 270 It's about over. And now I must pay for my fun—duck back to the office. 1917 H. L. Wilson Ruggles of Red Gap (1936) ii. 26 I duck out every morning before she's up. 1919 P. G. Wodehouse Damsel in Distress xvi He saw me, too, and what do you think he did? Ducked down a side-street, if you please. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 7/3 A wealthy bachelor, he ducked away from a question on the extent of his financial resources. c. transitive. To get away from, to avoid, dodge (a person or thing). colloquial (originally U.S.). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > safety > escape > escape from [verb (transitive)] > contrive to escape or evade > a person or slip away from aglya1250 outsteala1325 glide?1510 slip1513 betrumpa1522 to give (one) the slip1567 to get by ——1601 outslip1616 to give (a person or thing) the go-by1653 elude1667 to tip (a person) the picks1673 bilk1679 to tip (a person) the pikes1688 to give one the drop1709 jouk1812 double1819 sneak1819 shirk1837 duck1896 the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from (action) [verb (transitive)] > avoid or shun > a problem or difficulty hipc1440 illude1553 to give (a person or thing) the go-by1654 slink1658 jump1844 sidestep1899 burke1921 duck1928 bypass1941 1896 G. Ade Artie vi. 55 He was with a lot o' them Prairie avenue boys, and purty soon he ducks 'em and comes over an' touches me for two cases. 1926 J. Black You can't Win vii. 80 We'll get a passenger train out of Cheyenne, kid, if we can duck Jeff Carr. 1928 Daily Tel. 6 Nov. 13/3 (American Election) Both sides, he says, have ‘ducked’ the problems of Labour and foreign policy. 1936 ‘R. Hyde’ Passport to Hell 155 Soldiers who had ducked the church parades since the beginning of the War fell out of the lines to pray there. 1959 ‘M. M. Kaye’ House of Shade vi. 79 I should like to duck the whole situation by getting roaring drunk. 1963 Listener 21 Feb. 351/1 His peculiar play certainly ducked the questions of subjective and objective judgments that he chose to raise in Radio Times. II. transitive. 3. To plunge (a person or thing) momentarily in, into, or under water or other liquid. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > causing to come or go down > cause to come or go down [verb (transitive)] > dip or plunge into liquid > momentarily or abruptly ducka1300 dop1538 society > authority > punishment > public or popular punishments > [verb (transitive)] > punish by ducking flood?14.. cuck1611 duck1751 horse-pond1757 a1300 Cursor Mundi 23203 He that es duked ans dun. a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Fox & Wolf l. 750 in Poems (1981) 32 In the watter outher twyis or thryis He dowkit him. ?a1554 H. Willoughby in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) ii. 266 Ducked at the yardes arme, and so discharged. 1598 J. Stow Suruay of London 70 Ouerthrowne and well ducked. c1600 Hist. & Life James VI (1825) 64 They were dowkit [1804 ed.: dukit] in a deap loch over the heid thrie severall tymes. 1631 S. Rutherford Lett. (1863) I. 78 Howbeit, ye may be ducked, but ye cannot drown. 1751 in W. Hone Every-day Bk. I. 1045 A man and woman are to be publicly ducked at Tring. ?a1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 200 An' had in mony a well been douked. 1790 A. Wilson Poems 209 While I can douk in ink a quill. 1820 W. Scott Abbot I. ii. 42 I say, duck her in the loch, and then we will see whether she is witch or not. 4. To lower (the head, etc.) suddenly and momentarily; to jerk down. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > causing to come or go down > cause to come or go down [verb (transitive)] > lower or let down > momentarily > a part of the body duck1598 1598 E. Guilpin Skialetheia v. sig. D6 But bring them to a charge, then..Though but a false fire, they theyr plumes wil duck. 1607 G. Markham Cavelarice ii. 81 If..he haue taken a custome to duck downe his head, when he standeth stil. 1730 J. Swift To Doctor Delany 6 When..first he hears The Bullets whistling round his Ears, Will duck his Head. 1883 J. Gilmour Among Mongols xxi. 263 We..ducked our heads, and hurried into the tent. 5. duck up (Nautical): To raise with a jerk, haul up (a sail that obstructs the steersman's view). ΚΠ 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) (at cited word) ‘Duck up the Clew-lines of those Sails’. 6. transitive and intransitive. In the game of Bridge (see quots.). ΚΠ 1905 R. F. Foster Compl. Bridge 263 Ducking..is refusing to part with the command of your own suit, and is usually resorted to in situations in which no finesse is possible. 1905 R. F. Foster Compl. Bridge 264 The dealer sees that it is impossible to catch the K, Q, 10 of spades, so he ducks the suit by leading a small card. 1905 R. F. Foster Compl. Bridge 266 As there is no card in dummy's hand but the club ace that will bring the suit into play, that card must be kept as a re-entry until the third round, and the first two rounds of the suit must be ducked. 1905 R. F. Foster Compl. Bridge 312 Ducking.—Refusing to win tricks when able to do so. 1928 Daily Express 27 Aug. 4 You can frequently make the most of a suit by deliberately losing the first trick. This method of play, called ‘ducking’, is founded not only on the law of average probabilities but also on the expectation that the cards are normally distributed. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.¹967n.²1554n.³1640n.⁴1943v.a1300
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