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Glossary of Governance - Government Terms
beginning with letter D
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DA
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initialism (plural DAs)
  1. district attorney
  2. Department of the Army
  3. duck's arse (haircut)
  4. Department of Agriculture
  5. Dairy Association
  6. Doctor of Arts
  7. (internet) Domain Administration
dark horse
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noun
  1. (context, idiom, politics): A candidate who is nominated unexpectedly, without previously having been discussed or considered as a likely choice.
  2. (context, rare) An unexpected success.
Everyone was expecting the red team to win, but the greens were the in the event.
D-Day
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noun
  1. (historical) June 6th, 1944, the date during World War II when the allies invaded western Europe.
  2. (figuratively) The date of any major event planned for the future.
DEA
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initialism
  1. Drug Enforcement Agency (US) category:Drugs
deal
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noun
  1. (archaic) A division, a portion, a share.
We gave three deals of grain in tribute to the king.
  1. (often followed by of) A quantity, a lot (usually qualified by great or good.)
Skydiving requires a good of courage.
I'm a good older than I used to be.
That doesn't make a great of sense.
  1. (informal) A situation.
What's the ?
  1. (informal) A thing, an unspecified or unidentified object.
The with four tines is called a fork.
verb (deals, dealing, dealt)
  1. (transitive) To distribute among a number of recipients, to give out as one"s portion or share.
The fighting is over; now we out the spoils of victory.
  1. (transitive) To administer or give out, as in small portions.
I dealt him a mighty blow
  1. To distribute cards to the players in a game.
I was dealt four aces.
The cards were shuffled and dealt by the croupier.
  1. (baseball) To pitch.
The whole crowd waited for him to a real humdinger.
  1. (intransitive) To have dealings or business.
Now you'll have to with me.
  1. (intransitive) To trade professionally (followed by in)
She deals in gold.
  1. (transitive) To sell (illicit drugs.)
This club takes a dim view of members who drugs.
  1. (intransitive) To be concerned with.
The film dealt with a sensitive subject.
  1. (intransitive) To handle, to manage, to cope.
There's only one way to with people like her.
I can't with this.
adjective
  1. Made of deal.
A plain table
defense
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noun
  1. The action of defending or protecting from attack, danger, or injury.
  2. Anything employed to oppose attack(s).
  3. An argument in support or justification of something.
delegate
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noun
  1. a person authorized to act as representative for another; a deputy
  2. a representative at a conference etc
  3. an appointed representative in some legislative bodies
  4. (computing)
verb (delegat, ing)
  1. to authorize someone to be a delegate
  2. to commit a task to someone, especially a subordinate
  3. (computing) (internet) (italbrac, of a subdomain) to give away authority over a subdomain; to allow someone else to create sub-subdomains of a subdomain of yours
delegation
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noun
  1. An act of delegate, delegating.
  2. A group of delegate
    1. noun, delegates used to discuss issues with an opponent.
    2. (computing): A method dispatching technique describing the lookup and inheritance rules for self-referential calls.
    A contract whereby the original debtor substitutes a new debtor in his stead, with the creditor"s permission.
demise
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noun
  1. The conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years, most commonly the latter.
  2. Transmission by formal act or conveyance to an heir or successor; transference; especially, the transfer or transmission of the crown or royal authority to a successor.
  3. death, Death.
demo
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noun
  1. a brief demonstration or visual explanation
  2. a recording of a song meant to demonstrate its overall sound for the purpose of getting it published or recorded more fully
After hearing the the record label approved funding to record the song with a full band.
  1. an example of a product used for demonstration and then sold at a discount
  2. a march or gathering to make a political protest
abbreviation
  1. democrat
  2. demolition
  3. demonstration
democracy
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noun (democrac, ies)
  1. (uncountable) Rule by the people, especially as a form of government; either directly, as in Ancient Greece, or through elected representatives as in many modern societies (representative democracy).
    • 1866, J. Arthur Partridge, On Democracy, Trí¼bner & Co., page 2:
    • : And the essential value and power of Democracy consists in this,"that it combines, as far as possible, power and organization ; THE SPIRIT, MANHOOD, is at one with THE BODY, ORGANIZATION. .... Democracy is Government by the People.
    • 1901, The American Historical Review, American Historical Association, page 260:
    • : The period, that is, which marks the transition from absolutism or aristocracy to will mark also the transition from absolutist or autocratic methods of nomination to democratic methods.
    • 1921, James Bryce Bryce, Modern Democracies, The Macmillan Company, page 1:
    • : A century ago there was in the Old World only one tiny spot in which the working of could be studied. A few of the ancient rural cantons of Switzerland had recovered their freedom after the fall of Napoleon, and were governing themselves as they had done from the earlier Middle Ages.... Nowhere else in Europe did the people rule.
      1. (countable, government) A government under the direct or representative rule of the people of its jurisdiction.
    • 2003, Fareed Zakaria, The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad, W. W. Norton & Company, page 13:
    • : In 1900 not a single country had what we would today consider a : a government created by elections in which every adult citizen could vote.
      1. (rfv-sense) (uncountable) Belief in political freedom and equality; the spirit of democracy.
    • 1915, George William Coleman, Democracy in the Making: Ford Hall and the Open Forum Movement: a Symposium, http://books.google.com/books?id=8V0oAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA259&dq=democracy p259
    • : You cannot separate God and ... For if we believe in , we believe in God's purpose...
    • 1918, Charles Horton Cooley, "A Primary Culture for Democracy", in Publications of the American Sociological Society 13, http://books.google.com/books?id=cvUZAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA8&dq=democracy p8
    • : As states of the human spirit , righteousness, and faith have much in common and may be cultivated by the same means...
    • 1919, Tomí¡Å¡ Garrigue Masaryk, The Spirit of Russia: Studies in History, Literature and Philosophy, Macmillan, http://books.google.com/books?id=aLAcAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA4-PA446&dq=democracy p446
    • : It must further be admitted that he provided a successful interpretation of in its philosophic aspects when he conceived as a general outlook on the universe... In Bakunin's conception of as religious in character we trace the influence of French socialism.
    • 1996, Petre Roman, The Spirit of Democracy and the Fabric of NATO - The New European Democracies and NATO Enlargement, http://www.fas.org/man/nato/natodocs/an246pc.htm p1
    • : The spirit of means, above all, liberty of choice for human beings... , in both its individual and collective forms, is the main engine of the eternal human striving for justice and prosperity.
    • 2000, http://www.spiritofdemocracy.com/English/Index.htm SpiritOfDemocracy?.com
    • : "Don"t teach us the structures of democracy, we know all about the structures of democracy; teach us the spirit of ."
Democrat
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proper noun
  1. A member or supporter of the Democratic Party in the United States.
  2. A member or supporter of the Australian Democrats, a liberal political party.
adjective
  1. Of or belonging to the Democratic Party in the United States
democratic
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adjective
  1. Pertaining to democracy; favoring democracy, or constructed upon the principle of government by the people.
  2. (context, US): Relating to a political party so called.
democratize
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verb (democratiz, ing)
  1. To make democratic.
denizen
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noun
  1. An inhabitant of a place; one who dwells in.
the giant squid is one of many denizens of the deep
  1. One who frequents a place.
the denizens of that pub are of the roughest sort
  1. A citizen naturalized through letters patent.
though born in Iceland, he became a of Britain after leaving Oxford
  1. (biology) Local flora and fauna.
the bald eagle is a of the northern part of the state
verb
  1. (transitive, UK) To grant rights of citizenship to; to naturalize.
he was denizened to Ireland after fleeing his home country
department
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noun
  1. A part, portion, or subdivision.
  2. A distinct course of life, action, study, or the like; appointed sphere or walk; province.
  • Superior to Pope in Pope's own peculiar of literature. Macaulay.
    1. Subdivision of business or official duty; especially, one of the principal divisions of executive government; as, the treasury department; the war department; also, in a university, one of the divisions of instructions; as, the medical department; the department of physics.
    2. A territorial division; a district; esp., in France, one of the districts composed of several arrondissements into which the country is divided for governmental purposes; as, the Department of the Loire.
    3. A military subdivision of a country; as, the Department of the Potomac.
    4. (obsolete) Act of departing; departure.
  • Sudden departments from one extreme to another. Wotton.
dependency
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noun (dependenc, ies)
  1. A state of dependence; a refusal to exercise initiative:
Frank's sullen was driving his father nuts.
  1. Something dependent on, or subordinate to, something else:
In the United States' governmental structure, the military is conceived as a under the executive branch.
  1. A colony, or a territory subject to rule by an external power.
  2. A dependence on a habit-forming substance such as a drug or alcohol; addiction.
  3. (computing) In object-oriented programming, the use by one object of the functionality of another.
deputy
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noun (deput, ies)
  1. One appointed as the substitute of another, and empowered to act for him, in his name or his behalf; a substitute in office; a lieutenant; a representative; a delegate; a vicegerent; as, the deputy of a prince, of a sheriff, of a township, etc.
  2. (in France): A member of the Chamber of Deputies, formerly called Corps Législatif
  3. (Ireland) a member of Dí¡il í‰ireann, or the title of a member of Dí¡il í‰ireann. (Normally capitalised in both cases)
Eamon Ryan is a Deputy in the Dí¡il.
At today's meeting, Deputy Ryan will speak on local issues.
designate
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verb (designat, ing)
  1. To mark out and make known; to point out; to name; to indicate; to show; to distinguish by marks or description; to specify; as, to designate the boundaries of a country; to designate the rioters who are to be arrested.
  2. To call by a distinctive title; to name.
  3. To indicate or set apart for a purpose or duty; -- with to or for; to designate an officer for or to the command of a post or station.
adjective
  1. Designated; appointed; chosen.
despot
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noun
  1. A ruler with absolute power; a tyrant.
despotic
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adjective
  1. In the manner of a despot, tyrannical.
despotism
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noun
  1. government by a singular authority, either a single person or tight-knit group, which rules with absolute power
deviation
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noun
  1. The act of deviate, deviating; a wandering from the way; variation from the common way, from an established rule, etc.; departure, as from the right course or the path of duty.
  2. The state or result of having deviated; a transgression; an act of sin; an error; an offense.
  3. (context, contract law) The voluntary and unnecessary departure of a ship from, or delay in, the regular and usual course of the specific voyage insured, thus releasing the underwriters from their responsibility.
  4. (context, Absolute Deviation) The shortest distance between the center of the target and the point where a projectile hits or bursts.
devolution
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noun
  1. (context, originally) A rolling down.
  2. A descent, especially one that passes through a series of revolutions, or by succession
  3. The transference of a right to a successor, or of a power from one body to another.
  4. (genetics) degeneration, Degeneration (as opposed to evolution).
  5. The transfer of some powers, and the delegation of some functions, from a central sovereign government to local government; eg. from Westminster to Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly.
Di
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proper noun
  1. (given name, female, from Greek, ), diminutive of Diana.
dictator
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noun
  1. Originally, a magistrate without colleague in republican ancient Rome, who held full executive authority for a term grated by the senate (legislature), typically to conduct a war
  2. A totalitarian leader of a dictatorship. They wield absolute authority, usually to the detriment of the people (evil dictator), however, there are cases (such as benevolent dictators) where they are beneficial.
  3. A tyrannical boss
  4. A person who dictates text (e.g. letters to a clerk)
dictatorial
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adjective
  1. of or pertaining to a dictator
  2. in the manner of a dictator, usually with callous disregard for others
dictatorship
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noun
  1. A government led by a dictator or a despot. Dictatorships are more often than not totalitarian regimes, but there is also a benevolent dictatorship, which is by consent of the people.
diktat
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noun
  1. a harsh penalty or settlement imposed upon a defeated party by the victor
  2. a dogmatic decree
diplomacy
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noun
  1. The art of conducting international relations by negotiate, negotiating alliances, treaty, treaties, agreements etc., especially dexterity in securing advantage for one's nation.
  2. Tact and subtle skill in dealing with people.
diplomat
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noun
  1. a person, such as an ambassador, who represents a government in its relations with other governments
  2. someone who uses skill and tact in dealing with other people
diplomatic
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adjective
  1. Concerning the relationships between the governments of countries
  • She spent thirty years working for Canada's service.
  • Albania immediately severed relations with Zimbabwe.
    1. Exhibiting diplomacy; exercising tact or courtesy; using discussion to avoid hard feelings, fights or arguments
  • Thoughtful corrections can be as well as instructional.
diplomatist
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noun
  1. a diplomat
    • 1827, James Fenimore Cooper, The Prairie
    • :It was not so easy to penetrate the motives of the Pawnees. Calm, dignified, and yet far from repulsive, they set an example of courtesy, blended with reserve, that many a of the most polished court might have strove in vain to imitate.
direct
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verb
  1. To manage, control, steer.
  2. To aim at.
They directed their fire towards the men on the wall.
He directed his question to the room in general.
adjective
  1. Straight, constant, without interruption.
disfranchise
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verb (disfranchis, ing)
  1. To deprive someone of some privilege, especially the right to vote; to disenfranchise.
dissent
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noun (dissents)
  1. Disagreement with the ideas, doctrines, decrees, etc. of a political party, government or religion.
  2. An act of disagreeing with, or deviating from, the views and opinions of those holding authority.
verb
  1. To disagree with.
dissolution
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noun
  1. The termination of an organized body or legislative assembly, especially a formal dismisal
  2. Disintegration, or decomposition into fragments
  3. Dissolving, or going into solution
dissolve
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noun
  1. cinematography a film punctuation in which there is a gradual transition from one scene to the next
verb (dissolv, ing)
  1. (chemistry): to disintegrate by immersing it into a liquid
  2. to disperse, to drive to parts (a group of persons)
  3. cinematography shift from one shot to another by having the former fade out as the latter fades in
district
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noun
  1. An administrative division of an area.
    • The Soho of London
      1. An area or region marked by some distinguishing feature.
    • The Lake District in Cumbria
divan
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noun
  1. Turkish, A sofa.
    1. A council (typically of veziers of the Ottoman Empire) that discussed and recommended new laws and/or law changes to a higher authority (the sultan). The name reflects the fact that the veziers used to sit on a long traditional Turkish sofa while discussing the legal matters. No such legal entity exists in Republic of Turkey, which is the successor state of the Ottoman Empire.
divide
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noun
  1. A thing that divides.
Stay on your side of the , please.
  1. An act of dividing.
The left most of the good land on my share of the property.
  1. A distancing between two people or things.
There is a great between us.
division
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noun
  1. (uncountable) The act or process of dividing anything.
  2. Each of the separate parts of something resulting from division.
  3. (arithmetic) (uncountable) The process of divide, dividing a number by another.
  4. (arithmetic) A calculation that involves this process.
I've got ten divisions to do for my homework.
  1. A large military unit, usually made up of two or three brigades.
  2. A section of a large company.
  3. (context, biology, taxonomy) A rank (Latin divisio) below kingdom and above class, particularly used of plant, plants or fungus, fungi, also (particularly of animals) called a phylum; a taxon at that rank
Magnolias belong to the Magnoliophyta.
  1. A disagreement; a difference of viewpoint between two sides of an argument.
  2. (music) A florid instrumental variation of a melody in the 17th and 18th centuries, originally conceived as the dividing of each of a succession of long notes into several short ones.
  3. (music) A set of pipes in a pipe organ which are independently controlled and supplied.
  4. A concept whereby a common group of debtors are only responsible for their proportionate sum of the total debt.
DOC
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initialism
  1. drug of choice
  2. Department of Corrections
DOD
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initialism DoD? or
  1. Department of Defense
  2. Date of Death
DOI
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initialism
  1. Date of Incident
  2. Digital Object Identifier
  3. Department of the Interior
DOJ
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initialism
  1. Department of Justice
  2. Date of Judgment
DOL
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initialism
  1. Department of Labor
dole
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noun
  1. money or other goods given as charity
  2. (context, British, slang) payment by the state to the unemployed
I get my paid twice a week.
I"ve been on the for two years now.
  1. (archaic) sorrow or grief; dolour
verb (dol, ing)
  1. To distribute in small amounts; to share out, small portions of a meagre resource.
domain
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noun
  1. A geographic area owned or controlled by a single person or organization.
  2. A sphere of influence.
  3. A group of related items, topics, or subjects.
  4. (math) The set of all possible mathematical entities (points) where a given function is defined.
  5. (context, computing, Internet) Any Domain Name System, DNS domain name, particularly one which has been delegate, delegated and has become representative of the delegated domain name and it's subdomain, subdomains
    • BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual (9.3.2), Copyright © 2004, 2005 Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. ("ISC"), Copyright © 2000-2003 Internet Software Consortium, http://www.bind9.net/manual/bind/9.3.2/Bv9ARM.ch01.html
    • :Every name in the DNS tree is a , even if it is terminal, that is, has no subdomains.
      1. (context, computing, internet) A collection of Domain Name System, DNS or DNS-like domain name, domain names consisting of a delegate, delegated domain name and all its subdomain, subdomains
      2. (computing) A collection of information having to do with a , the computer, computers named in the , and the network on which the computers named in the reside
      3. (computing) The collection of computers identified by a 's domain name, domain names
      4. (context, biology, taxonomy) In the w:Three-domain system, three-domain system, the highest rank in the classification of organisms, above kingdom; in other taxonomic systems, a similarly high rank
      5. (context, biology, taxonomy) In the three-domain system, one of three taxon, taxa at that rank: (Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryota)
domestic
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noun
  1. A house servant; a maid.
    • Mary Romero, Maid in the U.S.A. - New standards of cleanliness increased the workload for s.
      1. A domestic dispute, whether verbal or violent
    • 2005: Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence, Domestic Violence in Whatcom County (read on the Whatcom County website athttp://www.co.whatcom.wa.us/boards/dv_whatcom042505.pdf on 20 May 2006) - The number of "verbal s" (where law enforcement determines that no assault has occurred and where no arrest is made), decreased significantly.
adjective
  1. Of or related to the home
    • 1994: George Whitmore, Getting Rid of Robert in Violet Quill - "Dan"s not as as you," I commented rather nastily.
      1. Of or related to activities normally associated with the home, wherever they actually occur
    • See, for example, domestic violence, violence, domestic hot water, hot water
      1. (Of a domesticated animal) kept by someone, for example as a farm animal or a pet.
    • 1890: US Bureau of Animal Industry, Annual report v 6/7, 1889/90 - It shall be the duty of any owner or person in charge of any animal or animals.
      1. Internal to a specific country
    • 1996 Robert O. Keohane, Helen V. Milner, Internationalization and Domestic Politics - The proportion of international economic flows relative to ones.
Dominion
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noun
  1. any of the self-governing nations of the British Commonwealth
donkey
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noun
  1. A domestic animal, Equus asinus, similar to a horse.
  2. A stubborn person.
  3. A fool.
  4. (nautical) A small auxiliary engine, also called donkey engine.
double agent
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noun
  1. A spy who works for both sides.
Downing Street
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noun
  1. a street in Westminster, London containing the residences of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer
  1. (be extension) the British government
drawback
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noun
  1. A disadvantage; something that detracts or take away, takes away.
Poor fuel economy is a common among larger vehicles.
dual citizenship
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noun
  1. The status of being a citizen of two countries
duchess
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noun
  1. The female ruler of a duchy.
  2. The female spouse or widow of a duke.
duchy
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noun (duchies)
  1. A dominion or region ruled by a duke or duchess.
    • A Grand Duchy may be a self-governing state.
    • A simple duchy tends to be a part of a larger kingdom or empire.
Duke
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proper noun
  1. A private university in North Carolina.
  2. (given name, male)
dukedom
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noun
  1. a region ruled by a duke or duchess; a duchy
  2. the rank or title of a duke
duma
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noun (plural: dumas)
  1. A Russian national parliament.
dynast
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noun
  1. A founder of a dynasty
  2. A ruler; a governor; a prince.
dynasty
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noun (dynasties)
  1. A series of rulers or dynasts from one family.
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