doge

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: the elected chief magistrate of the former republics of Venice or Genoa

   The Venetian doge presided over state ceremonies but governed alongside powerful councils.

Borrowed through French from Italian doge and Venetian doxe, from Latin ducem, the accusative of dux, 'leader.' Doge is therefore an etymological doublet of duke, though it names the elected heads of Venice and Genoa rather than a hereditary duke.

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