grand duke
1
7.9
- noun
- /ɡrænd duk/
- Formal
:
gran duque
- The citizens cheered as the grand duke rode through the streets in his ornate carriage.
Napoleon dines in Florence with the Grand Duke before returning to Milan.
- Napoleon dines in Florence with the Grand Duke before returning to Milan.
- Actually, some sources say it was the Grand Duke Dimitri who did the whole killing beginning to end.
Examples
-
The grand duke hosted a lavish banquet to celebrate the anniversary of his reign.
-
The grand duke is associated with all that is oppressive in the czarist society.
Academic text (1991) -
I would like to see the grand duke.
-
I know that the grand duke plans to remove you from court... or worse, as soon as he is in power.
-
The grand duke sits in his carriage with two children whose only crime is their noble birth.
Academic text (1991) -
I'm in charge of the entertainment for His Imperial Highness, the grand duke.
-
I suppose you know that the grand duke isn't exactly pleased with the present state of affairs.
-
Napoleon dines in Florence with the Grand Duke before returning to Milan.
-
Of all Rubens's images of war and peace, the most heartfelt is this one, which he painted for the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
-
Among its famous guests were Czar Nicholas II of Russia and his wife Alexandra, sister of the castle's owner Ernst Ludwig, the last grand duke of the state of Hessen-Darmstadt.
Academic text (2008)
Synonyms
433
1.4
A male member of a royal family who is not the ruler, often the son of a king or queen
53
6.1
A man from a noble family with the highest rank below a king or queen
2
9.9
An important noble of the highest rank in Spain or Portugal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning of 'grand duke' is directly derivable from 'grand' (indicating elevated or higher status) plus 'duke' (a male noble), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a duke of higher rank. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically (e.g. French grand-duc, Spanish gran duque) and follows regular adjective+noun semantics, making it readily understandable at B1.
Etymology
Grand duke comes from old Europe, where a duke was a ruler and grand meant 'big' or 'more important'. A grand duke ruled a larger duchy, so the name came to mean a high-ranking prince who rules a territory just below a king.