duteous

duteous

English

WOTD – 17 June 2009

Etymology

Irregular combination of duty +‎ -ous.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdjuː.ti.əs/, /ˈdʒuː.ti.əs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdu.ti.əs/
• Rhymes: -uːtiəs

Adjective

duteous (comparative more duteous, superlative most duteous)

1. (archaic) dutiful

   a duteous son

2. (archaic) Obsequious; submissively obedient.
   • 1623, William Shakespeare, King Lear, act iv, scene 6 (First Folio ed.)

     I know thee well. A ſeruiceable Villaine,
     As duteous to the vices of thy Miſtris,
     As badneſſe would deſire.

   • 1881 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Heart of the Night, lines 10-14

     O Lord, the awful Lord of will! though late,

     Even yet renew this soul with duteous breath:

     That when the peace is garnered in from strife,

     The work retrieved, the will regenerate,

     This soul may see thy face, O Lord of death!

Related terms

• duteously
• duty
• unduteous

Translations

obsequious; submissively obedient

Armenian: հլու (hy) (hlu), հնազանդ (hy) (hnazand), պարտաճանաչ (hy) (partačanačʿ) Bulgarian: покорен (bg) (pokoren), послушен (bg) (poslušen) Czech: poslušný, uctivý (cs), oddaný (cs)

Russian: послу́шный/поко́рный до́лгу (poslúšnyj/pokórnyj dólgu), исполни́тельный (ru) (ispolnítelʹnyj) Swedish: underdånig (sv), plikttrogen (sv)

References

• The Oxford English Dictionary