Where did the term "put your Dukes up" or to "Duke it out" originate?
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Scottythinks
ANSWERS: 2
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http://www.austinchronicle.com/mrpants/language.html - The expression "Put up your dukes" comes from old Cockney rhyming slang: "Put up your forks. Put up your Duke of Yorks." http://www.takeourword.com/Issue014.html - The word duke has its origin in fork, an old slang word for "hand", as in "fork over the cash". By the magnificent illogic of rhyming slang, fork was rhymed with Duke of York, then the rhyming portion was dropped, leaving duke.
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Origins of the word duke comes from Latin "dux" which means to lead or be a leader. Another Latin word "ducere" means to lead. The Roman word "dukker" means palm reading. All connected to the word "hands". In England the Cockney rhyming brings us the Duke of York and his forks. Forks mean the fingers attached to the hands and so on. So put up your dukes really means put up your Dukes of Yorks or your hands. The first dukes belonged to the Tuetonic tribe which invaded Italy. The area they governed was a "duchy". They were fighters. It's a British slang term from the 1800's In the mid 1800's the word was used as a verb in the sense of to shake hands. Translated, the phrases put your Dukes up or Duke it out means prepare to fight with your hands.
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