duck

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A common water bird with a flat beak, short legs, and webbed feet.

   The children fed bread to the ducks at the pond.

2. 2
   verb

   To lower your head or body quickly, especially to avoid being hit.

   He ducked just in time to avoid the low branch.

3. 3
   verb

   To avoid a duty or something difficult that you should do.

   She tried to duck the question by changing the subject.

4. 4
   verb

   To push someone or something briefly under water.

   His friends ducked him in the pool as a joke.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Duck, the name of the bird, and the verb meaning “lower the head or body quickly” go back to the same ancient root. The verb originally meant to dive briefly beneath the water, directly reflecting the characteristic behavior of the bird.

From Dutch doek, from Middle Dutch doeck, doec (“linen cloth”), from Old Dutch *dōc, from Proto-West Germanic *dōk, from Proto-Germanic *dōkaz (“cloth, rag”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwōg-, *dwōk-. Cognate with German Tuch (“cloth”), Swedish duk (“cloth, canvas”), Icelandic dúkur (“cloth, fabric”). Doublet of doek.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary