Definitions for: Duty


[n] work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons; "the duties of the job"
[n] 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
[n] a government tax on imports or exports; "they signed a treaty to lower duties on trade between their countries"



Webster (1913) Definition: 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.

Synonyms: obligation, responsibility, tariff

See Also: assignment, burden of proof, chore, civic duty, civic responsibility, countervailing duty, custom, customs, customs duty, demand, duty assignment, export duty, filial duty, function, guardianship, imperative, import duty, impost, incumbency, job, keeping, legal duty, line of duty, moral obligation, noblesse oblige, octroi, office, part, prerequisite, protective tariff, requirement, revenue enhancement, revenue tariff, role, safekeeping, social control, task, tax, taxation, tonnage, tonnage duty, tunnage, white man's burden, work

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