Duty

Duty
Duty Du"ty, n.; pl. {Duties}. [From {Due}.] 1. That which is due; payment. [Obs. as signifying a material thing.] [1913 Webster]

When thou receivest money for thy labor or ware, thou receivest thy duty. --Tyndale. [1913 Webster]

2. That which a person is bound by moral obligation to do, or refrain from doing; that which one ought to do; service morally obligatory. [1913 Webster]

Forgetting his duty toward God, his sovereign lord, and his country. --Hallam. [1913 Webster]

3. Hence, any assigned service or business; as, the duties of a policeman, or a soldier; to be on duty. [1913 Webster]

With records sweet of duties done. --Keble. [1913 Webster]

To employ him on the hardest and most imperative duty. --Hallam. [1913 Webster]

Duty is a graver term than obligation. A duty hardly exists to do trivial things; but there may be an obligation to do them. --C. J. Smith. [1913 Webster]

4. Specifically, obedience or submission due to parents and superiors. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

5. Respect; reverence; regard; act of respect; homage. ``My duty to you.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]

6. (Engin.) The efficiency of an engine, especially a steam pumping engine, as measured by work done by a certain quantity of fuel; usually, the number of pounds of water lifted one foot by one bushel of coal (94 lbs. old standard), or by 1 cwt. (112 lbs., England, or 100 lbs., United States). [1913 Webster]

7. (Com.) Tax, toll, impost, or customs; excise; any sum of money required by government to be paid on the importation, exportation, or consumption of goods. [1913 Webster]

Note: An impost on land or other real estate, and on the stock of farmers, is not called a duty, but a direct tax. [U.S.] [1913 Webster]

{Ad valorem duty}, a duty which is graded according to the cost, or market value, of the article taxed. See {Ad valorem}.

{Specific duty}, a duty of a specific sum assessed on an article without reference to its value or market.

{On duty}, actually engaged in the performance of one's assigned task. [1913 Webster] ||


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • duty — du·ty n pl du·ties [Anglo French deuté indebtedness, obligation, from deu owing, due, from Old French see due] 1: tasks, service, or functions that arise from one s position performing a police officer s duties; also: a period of being on duty… …   Law dictionary

  • Duty — • The definition of the term duty given by lexicographers is: something that is due , obligatory service ; something that one is bound to perform or to avoid Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Duty     Duty …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • DUTY — DUTY, an action that one is obligated to perform; a feeling, or sense, of obligation. In Judaism man s duties are determined by God s commandments. The entire biblical and rabbinic conception of man s role in the world is subsumed under the… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • duty — [do͞ot′ē, dyo͞ot′ē] n. pl. duties [ME duete < Anglo Fr dueté, what is due (owing): see DUE & TY1] 1. the obedience or respect that one should show toward one s parents, older people, etc. 2. conduct based on moral or legal obligation, or a… …   English World dictionary

  • Duty — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Duty Álbum de estudio de Ayumi Hamasaki Publicación …   Wikipedia Español

  • Duty — Album par Ayumi Hamasaki Sortie 27 septembre 2000 Durée 51:45 Genre …   Wikipédia en Français

  • duty — [n1] responsibility, assignment burden, business, calling, charge, chore, commission, commitment, committal, contract, devoir, dues, engagement, function, hook*, job, load, millstone*, minding the store*, mission, must, need, obligation,… …   New thesaurus

  • duty — ► NOUN (pl. duties) 1) a moral or legal obligation. 2) a task required as part of one s job. 3) a payment levied on the import, export, manufacture, or sale of goods. 4) Brit. a payment levied on the transfer of property, for licences, and for… …   English terms dictionary

  • duty — late 13c., from Anglo Fr. duete, from O.Fr. deu due, owed; proper, just, from V.L. *debutus, from L. debitus, pp. of debere to owe (see DEBT (Cf. debt)). Related: Duties. The sense of tax or fee on imports, exports, etc. is from late 15c.; duty… …   Etymology dictionary

  • duty — 1 Obligation Analogous words: responsibility, accountability, amenability, answerability, liability (see corresponding adjectives at RESPONSIBLE) 2 office, *function, province Analogous words: concern, business, *affair 3 *task …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

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