LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

dux

dux m or f (genitive ducis)
Classical[ˈdʊks]Ecclesiastical[ˈduks]
№ 239 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. femininemasculineleader, head
    “[...] Portantur avārī / Pygmaliōnis opēs pelagō; dux fēmina factī.” “… The wealth of avaricious Pygmalion they carry across the sea, a woman the leader of the deed.” (Venus tells Aeneas about Dido. See: Pygmalion of Tyre.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.363-364
  2. femininemasculinecommander, general, captain
  3. femininemasculineprince, ruler
  4. femininemasculineguide, cicerone, conductor
  5. Medieval Latinfemininemasculineduke

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quī exercitum dūcit.
dux ducis m — in Mille Verba, Bellum et Arma
leader, general
dux, ducis — in Viri Romae Facillimi, ch. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeduxducēs
genitiveducisducum
dativeducīducibus
accusativeducemducēs
ablativeduceducibus
vocativeduxducēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

plebis dux, vulgi turbator, civis turbulentus, civis rerum novarum cupidus
a demagogue, agitator.

dux, dŭcis, com. duco,
I. a leader, conductor, guide (for syn. cf.: imperator, ductor, tyrannus, rex, princeps, praetor, auctor).
I. In gen.: illis non ducem locorum, non exploratorem fuisse, Liv. 9, 5, 7; cf. itineris, Curt. 5, 4: itinerum, Caes. B. G. 6, 17, 1: regendae civitatis (with auctor publici consilii), Cic. de Or. 3, 17, 63: dux isti quondam et magister ad despoliandum Dianae templum fuit, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 21: nil desperandum Teucro duce et auspice Teucro, Hor. C. 1, 7, 27: tu dux et comes es, Ov. Tr. 4, 10, 119; id. P. 4, 12, 23 et saep. —In the fem., Cic. Fin. 1, 21, 71; id. Lael. 5, 19; id. Div. 2, 40; id. Tusc. 1, 12, 27; Verg. A. 1, 364; Ov. M. 3, 12; 14, 121 et saep.—
II. In partic., in milit. lang., a leader, commander, general-in-chief.
A. Prop., Caes. B. G. 1, 13, 2; 2, 23, 4 (with qui summam imperii tenebat); 3, 18, 7; 3, 23, 3 et saep.—Prov.: ducis in consilio posita est virtus militum, Pub. Syr. 136 (Rib.). Also a lieutenant-general, general of division (cf. duco, I. B. 5. b., and imperator), as opp. to the imperator, Caes. B. G. 3, 21, 1; Cic. Off. 3, 26, 99; id. Fl. 12, 27; Tac. H. 3, 37 al.—
B. Transf. beyond the milit. sphere, a leader, chief, head: dux regit examen, Hor. Ep. 1, 9, 23; cf. gregis, i. e. aries, Ov. M. 5, 327; 7, 311; so, pecoris, Tib. 2, 1, 58; but dux gregis = pastor, id. 1, 10, 10: armenti, i. e. taurus, Ov. M. 8, 884; of the head of a sect of philosophers, Lucr. 1, 638; cf. Quint. 5, 13, 59; Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 13.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dewk-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*déwkti
  3. Proto-Italic*doukō
  4. Latindux

Proto-Indo-European *-s Latin -s Latin dux From dūcō (“lead”, verb) + -s (noun-forming suffix).

Borrowed
  • Italianducafrom Ancient Greek δούξ
  • Romanianducăfrom Ancient Greek δούξ
  • Romanianducefrom Ancient Greek δούξ
  • Englishdux
  • Italianduce
  • Occitanduc
  • Spanishdux
  • Greekδούκαςfrom Ancient Greek δούξ
  • Ottoman Turkishدوقهfrom Ancient Greek δούξ
  • Friulianduchefrom Ancient Greek δούξ
Inherited
  • Italiandogefrom Venetan doxe
  • Englishdogefrom Venetan doxe
  • Frenchdogefrom Venetan doxe
  • GermanDogefrom Venetan doxe
  • Portuguesedogefrom Venetan doxe
  • Romaniandogefrom Venetan doxe
  • Friuliandûs
  • Liguriandûxe
  • LigurianDûxe
  • Lombarddus

Quick answers

What does dux mean in Latin?
dux, a noun, means “leader, head; commander, general, captain; prince, ruler”.
What is the genitive of dux?
The genitive singular is ducis. dux is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce dux?
In classical Latin, [ˈdʊks]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈduks].
Where does dux come from?
Proto-Indo-European *dewk- → Proto-Indo-European *déwkti → Proto-Italic *doukō → Latin dux.