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duty
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
duty
noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a moral duty/obligation (=something you must do for moral reasons)
▪ If you have a pet, you have a moral obligation to take care of it.
a sense of responsibility/duty (=a feeling that you must do something because it is right)
▪ Parents try to give their children a sense of responsibility.
administrative staff/duties/job etc
▪ the administrative costs of health care systems
▪ an administrative assistant
▪ staff who provide technical and administrative support to the college
be duty bound/honour bound to do sth
▪ A son is duty bound to look after his mother.
carry out your duties/responsibilities
▪ She carried out her duties very efficiently.
carry out your duties/responsibilities
▪ She carried out her duties very efficiently.
civic duty
▪ It is your civic duty to vote in the local elections.
death duties
devotion to duty
▪ the soldier’s courage and devotion to duty
discharge your duties/responsibilities/obligations etc
▪ The trustees failed to discharge their duties properly.
double duty
▪ The sofa does double duty as a guest bed.
excise duty/tax (=the money paid as excise)
▪ excise duty on tobacco
failing...duty
▪ The government are failing in their duty to protect people.
fulfil a role/duty/function etc
▪ A good police officer is not fulfilling his role if he neglects this vital aspect.
fulfilment of a promise/duty/condition etc
▪ People are wondering if they will ever see the fulfillment of the government’s campaign pledges.
import taxes/duties/tariffs
▪ The US imposed huge import duties on products from Europe.
night duty
▪ She is on night duty at the hospital.
on picket duty
▪ He’s on picket duty tonight.
perform a task/job/duty etc
▪ What skills do you need to perform this task?
report for duty (=arrive and be ready for work)
▪ All soldiers were required to report for duty on Friday.
sb's official duties (=the things someone does as part of their job or position)
▪ the royal family's official duties.
shirk your responsibilities/duties/obligations
▪ parents who shirk their responsibilities towards their children
stamp duty
take up a post/a position/duties etc
▪ The headteacher takes her duties up in August.
tour of duty
undertake duties (=do things as part of your job)
▪ I’m rarely asked to undertake teaching duties these days.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
active
▪ Scores of existing officers will be released for active duty by the creation of a police civil service.
▪ About 10 were interviewed, and nine remain on active duty.
▪ On Capitol Hill the number of policemen on active duty was doubled.
▪ He is the first commander-in-chief without active duty military experience since Franklin D.. Roosevelt.
▪ During its time in Oxfordshire it's seen active duty most recently in the Gulf War.
▪ He was an active-duty Marine for 21 years and was in the Reserves for 11 years.
▪ Lawyers said a general on active duty, Herna n Rami rez, was also indicted.
▪ They retired from active duty early in 1942.
administrative
▪ The Council also had powers as a criminal court in matters arising out of its administrative duties.
▪ Mead was bumped off major cases and firm committees, then given only administrative duties, the lawsuit alleges.
▪ By contrast a municipal corporation was a public governmental authority with administrative duties owed to all the inhabitants of its area.
▪ Precontest administrative duties were shared by several county superintendents in pre tion for the state spelling bee.
▪ She performed her share of administrative duties efficiently.
▪ The Department of Public Instruction provided a guideline of administrative duties, advice and judges for the state meet.
▪ This must be seen as a specialist task, on a par with other administrative duties and research commitments.
▪ Other clerical and administrative duties as required by the Acquisitions Librarian and the Chief Librarian.
civic
▪ Well, that's my civic duty done.
▪ You have to work, perform your civic duty.
▪ If banks choose not to be tempted in this way then an appeal to their civic duty is misplaced.
▪ And the couple are now taking an early-break break from their civic duties to patch up their differences.
fiduciary
▪ Secondly, control through the imposition of this fiduciary duty operates in an asymmetrical fashion.
▪ The suit against Western accused the firm of negligence and breach of fiduciary duty at the thrift.
▪ This they had failed to do, and, as a result, damages were awarded for breach of fiduciary duty.
▪ Pension funds have a fiduciary duty to their clients, not to the rest of the market.
▪ It was in the nineteenth century that fiduciary duties were extended to company directors.
▪ The extent to which fiduciary duties are modified will depend on what precisely is disclosed and to what the beneficiary has consented.
▪ They would also risk breach of their fiduciary duties to act in the best interests of the company rather than in their own.
▪ Today, the better view would appear to be that directors owe shareholders fiduciary duties in special circumstances.
general
▪ Note that there is a general duty to provide family centres for all children and not just children in need.
▪ The historical origins of the rule that there is no general duty to provide reasons are obscure.
▪ This was in my earlier days when carrying out general duties ashore.
▪ As in other situations, the general duty not to act arbitrarily or capriciously will apply.
▪ In the case of exchanges it usually translates into a general contractual duty to act fairly.
▪ On the one hand, it reinforces the argument that officials should have a general duty to provide reasons for decisions.
▪ This is a general duty to make sure that there are sufficient day care facilities available within the area.
▪ And the unit's highly-trained staff were on general duties in the hospital.
heavy
▪ Perhaps the most impressive beast of all, is the Current Trends Lion with a heavy duty bicycle chain for its mane.
▪ Cut four sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil into 8-inch squares.
▪ Soon came the freezer bag, the heavy duty bag, the sandwich bag and the Hefty Bag.
▪ These benefits have been realised despite heavy excise duty discrimination against spirits in favour of beers and wines, both at home and abroad.
▪ They were all into loon pants or being heavy duty skinheads.
▪ Many won't, but some have heavy duty machine.
▪ The heavy duty generators, ex-Army mobile field units, roared into life when Lawton cranked the handle.
legal
▪ Appointed, in theory, by shareholders, they have a legal duty to report managers' wrongdoings.
▪ To be more free of legal duties, he concentrated on his skills as a tailor.
▪ As Chapter 3 will discuss, the legal duties imposed on management are directed towards shareholder benefit.
▪ The school board has the same legal duty to bargain in good faith as the union does.
▪ A legal duty should in civil law be the counterpart of a legal right.
▪ Carmen claimed he and his group owed no legal duty to Roy Peck-that was their defense, in part.
▪ This paper is devoted primarily to harmonization of legal rights and duties arising under international transactions.
▪ Citizens thus had a legal duty to reveal felonies known to them.
moral
▪ The duty to compensate the defamed person is itself a moral duty.
▪ Though not under a legal liability to maintain his illegitimate child, the father is under a moral duty to do so.
▪ One person might consider it his moral duty to fight and another to desist from fighting.
▪ No violation of moral duty is involved.
▪ And the same may be said of most other merely moral duties.
▪ It manipulates the environment, and it is able to enforce moral duties on those who are inclined to disregard them.
▪ In their view serving the state was the highest moral duty and no state had external obligations.
official
▪ My first official duty was to help launch the Water 4 Life campaign.
▪ Most of his official duties had entailed preparations for the annual fish fry.
▪ Moreover, 87% think that the Royals should be protected from photographers when not on official duty.
▪ The privileges are supposed to cover mail sent as part of official duties.
▪ What characterises bureaucracy is the rational and systematic way in which official duties are defined and distributed.
▪ Thus school officials are protected for good-faith actions taken to fulfill their official duties.
▪ It was Potrovsky's first day of official duty.
▪ Most senators complain that their perpetual race for money distracts them from official duties.
other
▪ He continued to serve in this role, in addition to his other duties, until he retired in 1959.
▪ Ory and his deputy, Gen. Gustave Houphouët Koassi, were assigned to other unspecified duties.
▪ The tasks of a sales representative, except in the routine order-taking role, include other duties than making sales.
▪ Once this began all other farm duties would take second place.
▪ It does not extend to the delivery of goods or the performance of work or any other duty.
▪ To undertake other such relevant duties as the Director may determine.
▪ The guardian must continue to perform his other duties but can not give instructions to the child's solicitor.
▪ And the same may be said of most other merely moral duties.
public
▪ They said it was their public duty to help.
▪ Reporters and producers have a public duty to speak out if their vision of truth is suppressed by government appointees.
▪ Fees become more important than public duty or public contribution.
▪ If daily life was difficult, public duties were a nightmare.
▪ This public duty must not be influenced by private and personal interests.
▪ Normally, a body is subject to judicial review if it is the creation of statute and performs public law duties.
▪ But the public interest duty is singularly missing.
▪ Love is public duty or a political donation and the compensation is a pension or maybe an embassy.
statutory
▪ Because that would be contrary to our statutory duty.
▪ Brian would have an action for breach of statutory duty against Alan.
▪ The action for breach of statutory duty is advantageous to the plaintiff when the statutory duty is strict or absolute.
▪ However, statutory duties have a limited sphere of operation.
▪ The plaintiff claimed for breach of statutory duty.
▪ They took over the statutory duties and provisions of the old mental health departments.
▪ Introduction Not all breaches of statutory duty will give rise to an action for damages by a person injured as a result.
▪ A person who is subject to a statutory duty can not discharge that duty by entrusting responsibility for its performance to some one else.
■ NOUN
death
▪ After this date, and until 18 March 1986, a form of death duty called capital transfer tax applied.
▪ The current form of death duty is called inheritance tax.
▪ A tax on inherited estates began in 1894, though death duties can be traced back much further.
▪ The modern form of death duties is the inheritance tax.
▪ Some members of the ruling class have transferred property to relatives and friends to avoid death duties.
▪ By 1900 about half of government revenue was raised from income tax and from death duties.
▪ The new Earl also inherited a 2.25 million bill for death duties as well as 80,000 a year running costs.
▪ In addition, most information comes from official statistics, especially from the Inland Revenue, deriving from tax returns and death duties.
excise
Excise duty revenue from alcoholic drinks is much less buoyant than total excise duty.
▪ These prices excluded additional excise duties.
▪ The 0.8 p.c. rise in the index between the two months was largely due to changes in excise duty in the Budget.
▪ Mr Major resisted the temptation to leave some excise duties unchanged in order to hold down the inflation rate.
▪ For all Member States the excise duty for spirits is above that for both wines and beers.
▪ Lorry owners will get an immediate rebate on vehicle excise duty worth £265m this year.
import
▪ The final blow for many firms was the government's abolition of import duties which resulted in a flood of cheap imports.
▪ At the time, the country hiked import duties, imposed exchange-rate controls and nationalized the banks.
▪ Business is also booming in the Far East, though Hong Kong suffered from higher costs and increased import duties.
▪ In addition, import duties were levied on wines.
▪ Other import duties fell on sugar, tobacco, timber, silk, iron bars and, in some years, grain.
▪ Part of the reason for this recovery has been the reduction of import duties on foreign paper.
▪ But a family planning a wedding reception would be able to claim exemption from import duty.
night
▪ One girl who turned up for night duty wearing plimsolls received a proper rocket.
▪ After my first spell of night duty I collapsed into bed and slept for nineteen hours.
▪ Henry Bergson, an experienced field officer, was assigned to be 3d Brigade night duty officer.
▪ No night duty was included in the study.
▪ In practice, the student will necessarily miss some continuity because of days off and night duty.
▪ On night duty, there's always plenty of deep doorways.
▪ Men were sometimes on the beat twenty-one out of twenty-four hours during the transition between day and night duty.
officer
▪ The duty officer at the Cabinet Office Briefing Room was at the centre of a web of information technology.
▪ Henry Bergson, an experienced field officer, was assigned to be 3d Brigade night duty officer.
▪ Many referrals will be dealt with by the duty officer and never allocated to a social worker.
▪ My job as duty officer involves keeping Teesside Airport running smoothly at all times.
▪ Looking around I could see the duty Officer approaching from the direction of the farm.
▪ Some retired generals have voiced doubts, as have active-duty officers.
▪ The duty officer promised to get in touch but nothing happened for two days.
▪ They were later released after their commanders promised there would be no further incidents, said duty officer Paulino Cardoso.
solicitor
▪ Mr Surkov would get the chance of seeing the duty solicitor.
▪ There will also be no court duty solicitor today and throughout the week.
▪ The scramble to redistribute existing resources and clients provides the conditions for the development of schemes such as the duty solicitor.
▪ Best to let Mr Surkov see the duty solicitor on legal aid.
▪ The position is different in so far as it affects the duty solicitor scheme.
▪ Given that these defendants are unlikely to know the names of solicitors the responsibility for acting quickly settles on the duty solicitor.
▪ It also took over all aspects of the duty solicitor scheme.
▪ At least before the duty solicitor people were directed to lawyers who had qualifications in advocacy.
stamp
▪ No stamp duty should be payable because of these reliefs but the Regulations do not provide for a hybrid certificate.
▪ This means that stamp duty is assessed by reference to the highest ascertainable rent which might become payable under the lease.
▪ This will reduce Newco's stamp duty bill.
▪ Had the limit not been stated, the rent would have been unascertainable, and the stamp duty would have been £2.
▪ Whichever buy-in regime applies, stamp duty is payable by Target at one-half percent on the return of the cancelled shares.
▪ Therefore the stamp duty on a house worth £70,000 is £700.
▪ Much of the cost goes to the Government in stamp duties and Land Registry fees.
▪ A multiple transfer of assets may be time consuming if consents are required and may give rise to unnecessary stamp duty.
■ VERB
act
▪ Valenzuela himself was promoted from guard duty to acting as a back-up in kidnapping operations.
▪ They would also risk breach of their fiduciary duties to act in the best interests of the company rather than in their own.
▪ Yet it is normally said that it is a breach of an agent's duty to act for competing principals.
▪ In performing this duty the directors usually act on the advice of the issuing house and the lawyers acting.
▪ In the case of exchanges it usually translates into a general contractual duty to act fairly.
▪ This means that directors are under a duty to act in the best interests of the shareholders.
▪ Although they were under a duty to act fairly, they had not broken this duty.
▪ Following this there was some suggestion that in administrative decisions there was a lower duty to act fairly.
carry
▪ The man he left in charge did not carry out the duties expected of him.
▪ Finding that the superintendent was carrying out an official duty when making these comments, the court dismissed the suit against him.
▪ This was in my earlier days when carrying out general duties ashore.
▪ All that Anselm demanded was that the essential basis for carrying out his duties as archbishop should remain inviolate.
▪ The member States of the Commission could not carry out the duties entrusted to the Commission.
▪ The trouble was that although he carried out his duties perfectly adequately, such employment was neither satisfying nor lasting.
▪ And they agreed to forget their differ ences and carry out their duties as planned.
▪ I have rarely met two Ministers who take more trouble to carry out the duties of their ministerial office.
discharge
▪ With technical work, the appointment of a competent contractor may be sufficient to discharge the duty.
▪ He has been twice a Member of Congress, and in that office discharged his duty with ability and faithfulness.
▪ First, as a warning discharging the duty of care.
▪ New agencies and new officials were created to discharge political and economic duties formerly assigned to the sovereign courts.
▪ In doing so they had discharged their duty of care.
▪ The wound healed well, and the patient was discharged to duty.
▪ But trust in the authority is trust that the authority is likely to discharge its duties properly.
▪ Whether such a warning will discharge the duty of care will depend on the age of the entrant.
fail
▪ I would be failing in my duty if I allowed him such undeserved relief.
▪ You failed to do your duty as a soldier and succeeded in overthrowing the most legitimate government the nation has ever had.
▪ Where the unions fail in their duties to black workers they must be challenged to stand up for their rights.
▪ Phipps also performed well, but spoiled his record by failing to report for duty on two occasions.
▪ Greenpeace claim that the Authority is failing in its statutory duty to gather the necessary evidence to enforce the law.
▪ The Board dismissed him for allegedly failing in his duties to teach junior doctors.
▪ Lap Karen McCafferty, 17, was punished when she failed to memorise duty procedures.
▪ He had certainly been failing in his duty towards Dimity.
fulfil
▪ Eighteen months on, some head teachers are complaining that inspectors are fulfilling their duties with a zeal which smacks of prejudice.
▪ In this capacity he conscientiously fulfilled his duties for thirty-one years in a perfect apostolic spirit.
▪ Voice over Question: Do you feel you have fulfilled your duties towards him?
▪ It gives considerable scope to NGOs, community organisations and others to put pressure on the state to fulfil its duties.
▪ We know that both Charles and Diana are anxious to fulfil their duties to the Crown and do so conscientiously.
▪ By doing this, they could fulfil their special duty as intellectuals, making an important contribution to the nation.
▪ Greater Glasgow Health Board denied liability and said that the anaesthetist had fulfilled all his duties.
▪ Local authorities must fulfil this duty by providing a range and level of services appropriate to the need within the locality.
impose
▪ Section 47 imposes a duty to investigate on local authorities in certain specified circumstances.
▪ The Transfer Regulations do not impose a duty to consult employees in general if there is no recognised trade union.
▪ The statute may impose a duty on an employer to provide safety equipment and ensure that it is used.
▪ Given this reality, the law imposes duties upon the doctor which exist independently of agreement.
▪ They would have denied that the conscription law imposed a completely new duty.
▪ In the morning they will journey together to G.Q.G. Meanwhile the night imposes its own duties.
▪ Each of the three non-contractual areas of law imposing duties and liabilities is considered below.
neglect
▪ However, unconsciously I must have been riddled with remorse for so neglecting my duties.
▪ He has neglected his duties writing that damned family history and leaving Tim Skerritt to manage the estate.
▪ As he got nearer to No. 22 he decided that Mrs Brocklebank had been neglecting her duties here as well.
▪ Will the doctor be neglecting his duty if he respect this patient's expression of will?
▪ Other companies are happy to invest, with the proviso that the government does not neglect its duty.
▪ Ned would never neglect a duty, however tiresome, never put his own comfort first.
▪ You women are neglecting your duty.
owe
▪ A relator owes no duty to the public to initiate any law enforcement action.
▪ Solicitors owe a duty of confidentiality to their clients.
▪ But to whom does he owe his duties?
▪ The cost of remedying the defect is economic loss and neither party owes a duty of care to P2 in that respect.
▪ Consequently they ought to owe the same duties as traditional insiders.
▪ Today, the better view would appear to be that directors owe shareholders fiduciary duties in special circumstances.
▪ In return his subjects owed him the duty of honouring that peace.
▪ Directors are usually agents of the company, and owe it duties both of a fiduciary nature and of care and skill.
pay
▪ Brewers pay tax - excise duty - on the gravity.
▪ Denise Adolphi offered to pay the duty.
▪ By executing and keeping such documents outside the United Kingdom the purchaser can significantly reduce the stamp duty it must pay.
▪ Car users pay heavy duties on petrol and must pay licence fees for running a car.
▪ They themselves raised that question and they paid the duties.
▪ If you go over the limit you have to pay duty on the excess when you go through customs.
▪ The purchaser of assets will pay stamp duty at double this rate but on only part of the consideration.
▪ On a house costing £60,100 you pay £601 in duty.
perform
▪ Remember that it is not only a refusal to perform your normal duties which can amount to gross misconduct.
▪ Oh, the usual. Perform ecclesiastical duties.
▪ Headmen were relied upon to perform police duties in the countryside.
▪ These officials are responsible to the people for the way they perform their duties.
▪ It is not clear whether mandamus is available in respect of any failure by a statutory authority to perform a statutory duty.
▪ Officials in rural districts covering a large area may drive long distances to perform their regular duties.
▪ In performing this duty the directors usually act on the advice of the issuing house and the lawyers acting.
▪ You have to work, perform your civic duty.
provide
▪ A duty to provide accommodation at the inn without prior contract to any traveller seeking accommodation.
▪ The Court of Appeal held that the accused had a duty to provide information as to the status of his patients.
▪ Nevertheless, there are circumstances in which an employer may be under a contractual duty to provide work.
▪ Note that there is a general duty to provide family centres for all children and not just children in need.
▪ But only that the community as a whole has a duty to provide adequate protection in some way.
▪ Andrew will try to do his duty By providing some continuity.
▪ Charlie's case raises the question of the employer's personal duty of care and the duty to provide adequate equipment.
relieve
▪ Yith Kim Seng, Minister of Health, was also relieved of his duties.
▪ All three asked to be relieved of this duty.
▪ Friends of the family discovered their coupons returned or were relieved of the duty of delivering them.
▪ Of the first 126 soldiers relieved from duty in an army recruiting scandal, only three were officers.
▪ He was relieved from duty by the end of the week.
▪ The day was too much, and the battalion commander requested to be relieved of his duty.
▪ In the spring of 1993, Li suffered a heart attack and was relieved of more duties.
report
▪ Pilots are not permitted alcohol in the eight hours before they report for duty, or while on duty.
▪ Red Men who failed to report for bedside duty with their stricken brother were fined a dollar for dereliction.
▪ A queue of men were standing outside, soberly reporting for duty.
▪ Phipps also performed well, but spoiled his record by failing to report for duty on two occasions.
▪ You will not report for duty again until you have apologised for your insolence.
▪ The Kanyosha administrator, who confirmed the action, said that the victims were reporting on duty.
▪ Bill said he reports for duty July 1, and the first official shooting matches start July 20.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
England expects that every man will do his duty
dereliction of duty
▪ The officer in charge was cleared of dereliction of duty.
▪ Agit-poppers constantly castigate pop for its dereliction of duty and its straying from being aligned.
▪ He should have been put up against a wall and shot, if you ask me, for dereliction of duty.
▪ Historians note that the Royal Family has survived scandals, an abdication and dereliction of duty before.
▪ It would be a dereliction of duty to talk to students only about firms, cheques, and the price of wheat.
▪ Many parents, irrespective of class, must also stand condemned for similar dereliction of duty.
▪ Retirement at a time when the opposition was strong was seen by many among them as a dereliction of duty.
▪ That is a gross dereliction of duty.
▪ This was a disgraceful dereliction of duty.
do double duty
▪ Choose a sofa that will do double duty as a guest bed.
in the line of duty
▪ Officer Choi was killed in the line of duty.
▪ Dave Weatherley strips off in the line of duty to put seven seriously warm bags to the test.
▪ However, none of the disciplined officers was authorized to use the guns in the line of duty.
▪ It was the fourth time in five years she had been injured in the line of duty.
▪ Ron Brown was on a trade mission to the Balkans when he died in the line of duty.
▪ Since then, only one officer has died in the line of duty.
▪ They ruled that officers were expected to cope with traumatic events in the line of duty.
▪ Vice-Admiral Hawkins, of course, is acting in the line of duty.
▪ When one of the fiercely loyal team is gunned down in the line of duty, the unit seems ready to collapse.
relieve sb of their post/duties/command etc
shoulder the responsibility/duty/cost/burden etc
▪ After the publicists, casting directors began to shoulder the burden.
▪ He failed to shoulder the responsibility, which Government should shoulder, for imposing the tax in the first place.
▪ I think everyone has got to shoulder the responsibility for defeat, not just Graham.
▪ It does indeed make those who require nursing care through no fault of their own shoulder the cost.
▪ Voice over Swindon is one of the eighties boom towns which has had to shoulder the burden of recession.
▪ Why, he asked, should the taxpayer shoulder the burden of expropriation?
your bounden duty
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ And now I have a very pleasant duty to perform. I am going to present the prizes to the winning competitors.
▪ clerical and secretarial duties
▪ For the most part, there was not much to do, other than cleanup duty around the prison camp.
▪ He recently completed a tour of duty in Seoul as assistant to the US ambassador there.
▪ Part of a park ranger's official duties is to ensure public safety.
▪ Teachers have a duty to ensure that students are not injured whilst they are in their care.
▪ The customs duty on luxury cars went up last month.
▪ You have to pay a duty on the value of goods worth over $500 that you bring into the country.
▪ Your duties will also include answering the phone and typing letters.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ As he got nearer to No. 22 he decided that Mrs Brocklebank had been neglecting her duties here as well.
▪ Conversely, those to whom citizens accord deference have been characterized by having an in-bred sense of duty.
▪ He became a navy pilot, fought his way back on duty.
▪ However, unconsciously I must have been riddled with remorse for so neglecting my duties.
▪ Most of them mix their part time police duties with a full day's work.
▪ She didn't want to be the one to do that although she knew it was her duty.
▪ So David had been on duty this morning, had he?
▪ This proves expensive for the police, who receive no subsidy from soccer sources for officers on duty outside the stadium.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Duty

Duty \Du"ty\, n.; pl. Duties. [From Due.]

  1. That which is due; payment. [Obs. as signifying a material thing.]

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

  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.

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

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

    With records sweet of duties done.
    --Keble.

    To employ him on the hardest and most imperative duty.
    --Hallam.

    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.

  4. Specifically, obedience or submission due to parents and superiors.
    --Shak.

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

  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).

  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.

    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.]

    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] ||

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
duty

late 13c., from Anglo-French duete, from Old French deu "due, owed; proper, just," from Vulgar Latin *debutus, from Latin debitus, past participle of debere "to owe" (see debt). Related: Duties. The sense of "tax or fee on imports, exports, etc." is from late 15c.; duty-free as a noun is attested from 1958.

Wiktionary
duty

n. That which one is morally or legally obligated to do.

WordNet
duty
  1. n. work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons; "the duties of the job"

  2. the social force that binds you to your obligations and the courses of action demanded by that force; "we must instill a sense of duty in our children"; "every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty"- John D.Rockefeller Jr [syn: responsibility, obligation]

  3. a government tax on imports or exports; "they signed a treaty to lower duties on trade between their countries" [syn: tariff]

Wikipedia
Duty

Duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; , past participle of devoir; , whence " debt") is a term that conveys a sense of moral commitment or obligation to someone or something. The moral commitment should result in action; it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition. When someone recognizes a duty, that person theoretically commits himself to its fulfillment without considering their own self-interest. This is not to suggest that living a life of duty entirely precludes a life of leisure; however, its fulfillment generally involves some sacrifice of immediate self-interest. Typically, "the demands of justice, honor, and reputation are deeply bound up" with duty.

Cicero, an early philosopher who discusses duty in his work “On Duty", suggests that duties can come from four different sources:

  1. as result of being human
  2. as a result of one's particular place in life (one's family, one's country, one's job)
  3. as a result of one's character
  4. as a result of one's own moral expectations for oneself

Various derivative uses of the word have sprung from the root idea of obligation, a concept involved in the notion of duty; thus it is used in the services performed by a minister of a church, by a soldier, or by any employee or servant.

Many schools of thought have debated the idea of duty. While many assert mankind's duty on their own terms, some philosophers have absolutely rejected a sense of duty.

Duty has to be accepted and understood on the basis of one's foundation of sense and knowledge. Therefore, duty and its manifestations vary with values from culture to culture. On one hand duty may be seen as terms of reference, job description, or behavior - and it is all of that ... but duty is not only about doing things right, it is about doing the right thing.

Duty (disambiguation)

Duty is a philosophical and legal concept.

Duty may also refer to:

Duty (film)

Duty is the eighth and final episode of the British TV series Hornblower, based on the book Hornblower and the Hotspur by C.S. Forester. It was released on 6 January 2003, nearly four years after the first four films, nine months after the next two films, and a day after episode 7: Loyalty

Duty (album)

Duty is the third studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on September 27, 2000 by Avex Trax. Duty is Hamasaki's first studio album inside the 2000 decade, and her third consecutive studio album to be fully produced by Japanese musician and businessman Max Matsuura. The album's composing and arrangement was handled by several music collaborators, such as Ken Harada, Kazuhito Kikuchi, Dai Nagao, HΛL, among many others. Hamasaki contributed to the album as the primary and background vocalist, and songwriter to every song. Three different formats were released to promote the album: a standalone CD, a limited edition Playbutton, and a digital download. The cover sleeve has Hamasaki wearing a leopard-print cat-suit.

Upon the album's release, it was met with favourable reviews from music critics. Critics highlight individual songs as stand out tracks, and found the album a memorable effort within the Japanese pop genre. Duty became Hamasaki's third studio album to reach the top spot on Japan's Oricon Albums Chart. The album has sold over three million units in Japan, making this her best selling studio album as of today. Five singles were released from the album. Two of the singles, " Seasons" and " Surreal", topped Japan's Oricon Singles Chart, while the former sold over 1.3 million units in Japan. Hamasaki promoted the album through her 2000 self-titled concert tour.

Duty (economics)

In economics, a duty is a kind of tax levied by a state. It is often associated with customs, in which context they are also known as tariffs or dues. The term is often used to describe a tax on certain items purchased abroad. Properly, a duty differs from a tax in being levied on specific commodities, financial transactions, estates, etc. rather than on individuals. Duties may be import duties, excise duties, stamp duties, death or succession duties, etc.; but not such direct impositions as personal income taxes.

Duty (village)

Duty (, also known as "" or "") is a village ( selo) in the southern part of Khiloksky District of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Duty and Arey Rivers, away from Khilok.

In the 1950s, a logging post of Areysky Logging-Lumbering Enterprise was located here. During the 1970s and 1980s, Duty was home to a Soviet Army engineering battalion building the road between Ulan-Ude and Chita. Duty was abandoned in 2002 because of the devastating wildfire, but, as of 2004, it was not officially abolished.

The archeological complex of Shaman-Gora is located in the vicinity of the village.

Usage examples of "duty".

There were few officers aboard the Endymion who turned a blind eye, but when it came to a zealous pursuit of duty, the first lieutenant was the worst.

However, the Supreme Court declined to sustain Congress when, under the guise of enforcing the Fourteenth Amendment by appropriate legislation, it enacted a statute which was not limited to take effect only in case a State should abridge the privileges of United States citizens, but applied no matter how well the State might have performed its duty, and would subject to punishment private individuals who conspired to deprive anyone of the equal protection of the laws.

My illustrious friend still continuing to sound in my ears the imperious duty to which I was called, of making away with my sinful relations, and quoting many parallel actions out of the Scriptures, and the writings of the holy fathers, of the pleasure the Lord took in such as executed his vengeance on the wicked, I was obliged to acquiesce in his measures, though with certain limitations.

However, I did not trouble myself much about it, for it is almost a duty in an actress to disguise her age, as in spite of talent the public will not forgive a woman for having been born too soon.

Tersely, Adad reminded both Marduk and the crowded room that kings in Babylonia are mortal, and that kingship is a painful duty.

Negroes who had received sentences of death for rape, and asserted that, at least in capital cases, where the defendant is unable to employ counsel and is incapable adequately of making his own defense because of ignorance, illiteracy, or the like, it is the duty of the court, whether requested or not, to assign counsel for him as a necessary requisite of due process of Law.

Again and again, in adjudicating the rights and duties of States admitted after 1789, the Supreme Court has referred to the condition of equality as if it were an inherent attribute of the Federal Union.

The fact is that the duty of such adjudication on a basis no less narrow has been committed to this Court.

The adjutant on duty, meeting Prince Andrew, asked him to wait, and went in to the Minister of War.

But these pompous titles, instead of gratifying the vanity of the Persian, served only to admonish him of his duty, and to inflame in his soul and shoulder the ambition of restoring in their full splendor, the religion and empire of Cyrus.

Without depending on prayers or miracles, he boldly armed against the public enemy, and his pastoral letters admonished the Italians of their danger and their duty.

Though you cannot want sufficient calls to repentance for the many unwarrantable weaknesses exemplified in your behaviour to this wretch, so much to the prejudice of your own lawful family, and of your character, I say, though these may sufficiently be supposed to prick and goad your conscience at this season, I should yet be wanting to my duty, if I spared to give you some admonition in order to bring you to a due sense of your errors.

To protect his person, and to adorn his glory with the trophies of their own exploits, were the most sacred of their duties.

Two years ago, Het and Jek Nkik had been separated upon reaching their age of adulthood, sent out to do scavenger duty away from the Jawa fortress.

I knew he would be true to himself, and now how proud I am to see my Jonathan rising to the height of his advancement and keeping pace in all ways with the duties that come upon him.