Dū'ty, n.

[From due, Fr. dû.]

1Sense 1. That which is due from one person to another; that which is owing; especially, that which a person is bound, by any natural, moral, or legal obligation, to do, or refrain from doing; the relation or obliging force of that which is morally right.

When thou receivest money for thy labor or ware, thou receivest thy duty. Tyndale.

Forgetting his duty toward God, his sovereign lord, and his country. Hallam.

2Sense 2. Service rendered; respectful obedience; loyal performance of obligation;—said especially of military service. “To employ him on the hardest and most imperative duty.” Hallam.

3Sense 3. Respect; reverence; regard. “My duty to you.” Shak.

4Sense 4. (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.

☞ 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.]

5Sense 5. (Engin.) The work performed by an engine, especially a steam pumping-engine, as measured by weight lifted by a certain quantity of fuel; strictly, the number of pounds of water lifted one foot by one bushel of coal (94 lbs. old standard), or by 1 cwt. (112 lbs. Eng. or 100 lbs. U.S.).