duteous

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈdutiəs/ UK /ˈdjuːtiəs/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
dutiful and obedient (literary)

The duteous servant carried out every order without complaint.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · dutiful and obedient... dutiful obedient compliant deferential respectful submissive

Opposites

disobedient rebellious disloyal

Word family

Derived forms duteouslyduteousness

Related forms duty dutiful due

Etymology

From 'duty' + the suffix '-eous' (modeled on 'beauteous', 'plenteous'). 'Duty' is from Anglo-Norman 'duete', from Old French 'deu' ('owed'), from Latin 'debere' ('to owe').

duete Middle English debere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

# duteous

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈdutiəs
**IPA (UK):** ˈdjuːtiəs

## Meanings
1. dutiful and obedient (literary)

## Examples
- The duteous servant carried out every order without complaint.

## Synonyms
- dutiful
- obedient
- compliant
- deferential
- respectful
- submissive

## Antonyms
- disobedient
- rebellious
- disloyal

## Derived Forms
- duteously
- duteousness

## Related Forms
- duty
- dutiful
- due

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: duete
- Root: debere

## Etymology
From 'duty' + the suffix '-eous' (modeled on 'beauteous', 'plenteous'). 'Duty' is from Anglo-Norman 'duete', from Old French 'deu' ('owed'), from Latin 'debere' ('to owe').

## AI Etymology
Duteous is from 'duty' + the suffix '-eous' (modeled on 'beauteous', 'plenteous'). 'Duty' is from Anglo-Norman 'duete', from Old French 'deu' ('owed'), from Latin 'debere' ('to owe'). The ancestry passes through Old French duete and Latin debere. In present use as an adjective, it means "dutiful and obedient (literary)", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include duty, dutiful, and due; derived forms include duteously and duteousness. Its contrast set includes disobedient, rebellious, and disloyal, which clarifies the semantic boundary of the modern word.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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