duty

name

1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English duete, from Middle English dewe + Middle English -te. Equivalent to due + -ty.

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

   “Do your duty by me! -No, we don't have a duty to keep you abreast.”

   “1805, 21 October, Horatio Nelson England expects that every man will do his duty.”

2. The state of being at work and responsible for or doing a particular task.

   “I’m on duty from 6 pm to 6 am.”

3. An excise tax; especially, one on imports or exports.

   “customs duty”

4. One's due, something one is owed; a debt or fee.

   “Take that which is thy duty, and goo thy waye.”

5. Respect; reverence; regard; act of respect; homage.

   “my duty to you”

   “It [the letter] was written with a plain, unaffected, homely piety that I knew to be genuine, and ended with ‘my duty to my ever darling’—meaning myself.”

6. The efficiency of an engine in work done per unit of fuel; particularly, the number of pounds of water which a steam pumping engine can raise one foot by burning one bushel or hundredweight of coal.
7. The act of urination or defecation, especially for a dog.

   “The basic idea in housebreaking is not to wait until the puppy sins and then punish him; it is to call nature to your aid and thus make it easy for him to do his duty.”