duty

See also: Duty and dutý

English

Etymology

From Middle English duete, from Middle English dewe) + Middle English -te, (borrowed from Old French -te from Latin -tātem, accusative masculine singular of -tās). Akin to due + -ty (Alternative form of -ity).

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdjuːti/
(General American) IPA^(key): /duɾi/
Audio (US) (file)
Audio (UK) (file)
Rhymes: -uːti
Homophone: doody (for some speakers)

Noun

duty (countable and uncountable, plural duties)

That which one is morally or legally obligated to do.
We don't have a duty to keep you here.
- 1805, 21 October, Horatio Nelson
  England expects that every man will do his duty.
- 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314:
  Captain Edward Carlisle […] felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, […]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.
- 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
  Charles had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place, but he was not such a whopstraw as to make the least noise in the performance of his duties when his lordship was out of humour.
- 2013 August 10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
  British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.
The state of being at work and responsible for or doing a particular task.
I’m on duty from 6 pm to 6 am.
A tax placed on imports or exports; a tariff.
customsduty; exciseduty
(obsolete) One's due, something one is owed; a debt or fee.
- 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], OCLC 762018299, Matthew ]:
  Take that which is thy duty, and goo thy waye.
(obsolete) Respect; reverence; regard; act of respect; homage.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene ii]:
  my duty to you
- 1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, OCLC 558196156:
  It [the letter] was written with a plain, unaffected, homely piety that I knew to be genuine, and ended with ‘my duty to my ever darling’—meaning myself.
The efficiency of an engine, especially a steam pumping engine, as measured by work done by a certain quantity of fuel; usually, the number of pounds of water lifted one foot by one bushel of coal (94 lbs. old standard), or by 1 cwt. (112 lbs., England, or 100 lbs., United States).

Synonyms

(that which one is obligated to do): obligation

Antonyms

duty-free (taxes)
(that which one is obligated to do): right

Derived terms

active duty
call of duty
chimney-duty
civic duty
countervailing duty
customs duty
death duty
Delivered Duty Paid
Delivered Duty Unpaid
do one's duty
dutiable
dutiful (adjective)
duty ace
duty bound
duty-bound
duty calls
duty card
duty cycle
duty-free
duty man
duty-man
duty manager
duty of care
duty officer
duty of support
duty roster
duty solicitor
duty to retreat
estate duty
excise duty
export duty
fatigue duty
feu-duty
feu duty
fiduciary duty
filial duty
heavy-duty
home duty
import duty
jury duty
legal duty
light-duty
line of duty
moral duty
neglect duty
off-duty
off duty
on-duty
on duty
point duty
scab duty
sea duty/sea-duty
shore duty
stamp duty
static separation of duty
succession duty
tonnage duty
tour of duty
yard duty

Related terms

due

Collocations

Adjectives often used with "duty"

public, private, moral, legal, social, double, civic, contractual, political, judicial, etc.

Translations

that which one is morally or legally obligated to do

Albanian: rangë (sq) f, detyrë (sq) f
Arabic: وَاجِب‎ (ar) m (wājib), وَظِيفَة‎ (ar) f (waẓīfa)
Egyptian Arabic: واجب‎ m (wāgib)
Armenian: պարտք (hy) (partkʿ), պարտականություն (hy) (partakanutʿyun)
Azerbaijani: borc (az), vəzifə (az)
Bashkir: бурыс (burıs)
Belarusian: доўг m (doŭh), абавя́зак (be) m (abavjázak)
Bulgarian: дълг (bg) m (dǎlg)
Catalan: obligació (ca), deure (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 責任／责任 (zh) (zérèn), 義務／义务 (zh) (yìwù)
Chuukese: wis
Crimean Tatar: vazife
Czech: povinnost (cs) f
Danish: pligt c
Dutch: plicht (nl) f
Esperanto: devo
Estonian: kohustus
Finnish: velvollisuus (fi)
French: devoir (fr) m, obligation (fr), service (fr)
Galician: obriga f, obrigación (gl) m
Georgian: მოვალეობა (movaleoba), ვალდებულება (valdebuleba)
German: Pflicht (de) f
Greek: καθήκον (el) n (kathíkon), υποχρέωση (el) f (ypochréosi)
Hebrew: חוֹבָה‎ (he) f (khova)
Hindi: कृत्य (hi) m (kŕtya), कर्तव्य (hi) m (kartavya)
Hungarian: kötelesség (hu)
Icelandic: kvöð (is) f, skylda f
Irish: dualgas (ga) m
Italian: dovere (it) m, obbligo (it) m
Japanese: 義務 (ja) (ぎむ, gimu), 勤め (ja) (つとめ, tsutome), 役目 (ja) (やくめ, yakume), 服務 (ja) (ふくむ, fukumu)
Kazakh: борыш (boryş), парыз (paryz), міндет (kk) (mındet)
Korean: 의무(義務) (ko) (uimu), 임무(任務) (ko) (immu), 근무(勤務) (ko) (geunmu), 업무(業務) (ko) (eommu)
Kyrgyz: милдет (ky) (mildet)
Latin: dēbitum n, iūs (la) n, mūnus (la) n, officium (la) n, pars (la)
Latvian: pienākums m
Lithuanian: pareiga f
Low German: Plicht
Macedonian: должност f (dolžnost)
Malayalam: കടമ (ml) (kaṭama)
Maltese: dmir m
Maori: tiuti
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: суудал (mn) (suudal)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: plikt (no) m or f
Occitan: obligacion (oc), dever (oc) m
Old English: pleoh n
Persian: تکلیف‎ (fa) (taklif), وظیفه‎ (fa) (vazife)
Plautdietsch: Flicht f
Polish: obowiązek (pl) m
Portuguese: dever (pt) m, obrigação (pt) f
Romanian: datorie (ro) f
Russian: долг (ru) m (dolg), обя́занность (ru) f (objázannostʹ)
Sanskrit: कर्तव्य (sa) (kartavya), धर्म (sa) (dharma)
Sardinian: dovère m, òbrigu m
Scottish Gaelic: còir f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ду́жно̄ст f, задуже́ње n
Roman: dúžnōst (sh) f, zadužénje (sh) n
Slovak: povinnosť f
Slovene: dolžnost f
Somali: waajib
Spanish: deber (es) m, obligación (es) f, cometido (es), menester (es)
Swahili: zamu (sw)
Swedish: plikt (sv) c, skyldighet (sv) c
Tajik: вазифа (tg) (vazifa)
Thai: กิจ (th) (kìt), งาน (th) (ngaan), หน้าที่ (th) (nâa-tîi)
Turkish: görev (tr)
Ukrainian: борг (uk) m (borh), обо́в'язок (uk) m (obóvʺjazok)
Uzbek: burch (uz), vazifa (uz)
Vietnamese: nhiệm vụ (vi) (任務), trách nhiệm (vi) (責任), chức trách (職責), nghĩa vụ (vi) (義務), chức vụ (vi) (職務)
Zazaki: wezife (diq) c

period of time

Armenian: հերթափոխ (hy) (hertʿapʿox)
Bulgarian: дежу́рство (bg) n (dežúrstvo)
Catalan: servei (ca)
Czech: služba (cs) f
Danish: tjeneste c
Dutch: van dienst m
Finnish: työvuoro (fi)
French: travail (fr) m
Georgian: მორიგეობა (morigeoba), ცვლა (cvla), ვახტი (vaxṭi)
German: Schicht (de) f, Arbeitszeit (de) f
Greek: βάρδια (el) f (várdia)
Hungarian: szolgálat (hu)
Italian: servizio (it) m, attività (it) f
Macedonian: должност f (dolžnost), смена f (smena)
Malayalam: ജോലിസമയം (jōlisamayaṃ)
Polish: służba (pl) f
Portuguese: plantão (pt) m
Romanian: sarcină (ro)
Russian: дежу́рство (ru) n (dežúrstvo), сме́на (ru) f (sména)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ду́жно̄ст f, слу̀жба f
Roman: dúžnōst (sh) f, slùžba (sh) f
Swedish: tjänst (sv) c

tax; tariff

Albanian: taksë dogane f
Armenian: մաքս (hy) (makʿs), մաքսատուրք (hy) (makʿsaturkʿ)
Old Armenian: հարկ (hark), տուրք (turkʿ), բաժ (baž)
Azerbaijani: rüsum
Belarusian: мы́та f (mýta), по́шліна f (póšlina), збор (be) m (zbor)
Bulgarian: ми́то (bg) n (míto)
Catalan: taxa (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 稅／税 (zh) (shuì), 關稅／关税 (zh) (guānshuì)
Crimean Tatar: bergi
Czech: clo (cs) n
Danish: told (da) c
Dutch: taks (nl) m
Esperanto: tarifo, dogano
Estonian: tollimaks
Faroese: tollur m
Finnish: tullimaksu (fi)
French: taxe (fr) f
German: Zoll (de) m, Einfuhrsteuer f
Greek: δασμός (el) m (dasmós)
Hungarian: vám (hu)
Italian: tassa (it) f, dazio (it) m, gabella (it) f, tributo (it) m, imposta (it) f, balzello (it) m
Japanese: 関税 (ja) (かんぜい, kanzei), 税金 (ja) (ぜいきん, zeikin),
Kazakh: баж (kk) (baj)
Korean: 관세(關稅) (ko) (gwanse), 세금(稅金) (ko) (segeum)
Latin: indictiō f, portōrium n, vectīgal n, illātiō f
Lithuanian: muitas m
Macedonian: царина f (carina)
Malayalam: തീരുവ (ml) (tīruva)
Maori: tiuti, tāke taonga
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: хураамж (mn) (xuraamž)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: toll (no) m
Nynorsk: toll m
Polish: cło (pl) n
Portuguese: imposto (pt) m, taxa (pt) f
Romanian: taxă (ro) f, impozit (ro) n, datorie (ro) f
Russian: по́шлина (ru) f (póšlina), налог (ru) m (nalog), сбор (ru) m (sbor)
Scottish Gaelic: cìs f, càin f
Spanish: arancel (es) m
Swedish: tull (sv) c, tullavgift (sv) c
Tuvan: каайлы (kaaylı)
Ukrainian: ми́то n (mýto), збір m (zbir)
Vietnamese: thuế quan (vi) (稅關), hải quan (vi) (海關)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Estonian: ^{(please verify)} kohus (et), ^{(please verify)} kohustus, ^{(please verify)} toll (et), ^{(please verify)} teenistuskohustus

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈdutɨ]

Participle

duty

past passive participle of duś

Declension

Declension of duty

	Masculine singular	Feminine singular	Neuter singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	duty	duta	dute	dutej	dute
Genitive	dutego	duteje	dutego	duteju	dutych
Dative	dutemu	dutej	dutemu	dutyma	dutym
Accusative	duty dutego (animate)	dutu	dute	dutej duteju (animate)	dute dutych (optional animate form)
Instrumental	dutym	duteju	dutym	dutyma	dutymi
Locative	dutem	dutej	dutem	dutyma	dutych

duty

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Collocations

Translations

Further reading

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

Participle

Declension