duty
part of speech
noun (a duty, duties; uncountable "duty" for the idea)
meaning for a pupil
1) Something you must do because it is right, because it is your job or because the rules or the law say so. tree →
2) Work that is part of a job, as in a teacher on playground duty. tree →
3) A tax paid on some goods, especially things brought in from another country. tree →
4) "On duty" means working right now; "off duty" means not working. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: The duty of a husband's brother means marrying his dead brother's widow to raise children in the brother's name. It can also mean what a day's service requires. Interpretation: This is the law of levirate marriage (yibbum), later developed in the Talmud, with the ceremony of chalitzah as a way to be released from it. In Ezra, the "duty of every day" is the set number of offerings for each day at the festival. In the primary lessons: In everyday life and at school, children have duties such as feeding the pet, tidying up or being class monitor; a teacher may be on playground duty. In citizenship lessons, people have duties as well as rights, like obeying the law. Police officers, nurses and firefighters work on duty in shifts. In stories, a knight does his duty. Phrases: "on duty", "off duty", "do your duty", "it is my duty to…", "heavy-duty" (very strong), "duty-free" (no tax).
examples
- And Judah said unto Onan: 'Go in unto thy brother's wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her, and raise up seed to thy brother.' (Torah GEN.38.8, JPS 1917) tree →
- And they kept the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt-offerings by number, according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required; (Writings EZR.3.4, JPS 1917) tree →
- Mrs Patel is on playground duty today. tree →
- It is my duty to feed the goldfish. tree →
- The nurse came off duty at seven o'clock. tree →
- Firefighters do their duty bravely. tree →
- My duties as class monitor include handing out books. tree →
- We have a duty to look after the planet. tree →
- This bag is heavy-duty, so it won't tear. tree →
- Dad bought chocolate at the duty-free shop at the airport. tree →
- Youth’s first duty is reverence to parents. tree →
note
Plural: duties (y → ies). "On duty" (working) is the opposite of "off duty". "Duty" and "job" overlap; "duty" stresses what you ought to do. Do not confuse with "dusty" (covered in dust). A duty roster or rota is a list of who does which job when; in maths problems a rota might repeat every few days.
In the corpora
- In November 2019 Prince Andrew stepped back from public duties after a BBC interview about his friendship with a man convicted of serious crimes.
- A dog in a working harness is on duty, so you do not stroke it.
- Want any washing done to-day?» «We don't do any washing on duty,» they said.
- "Relieved of his duties" means fired, in official language.
- If children say you cannot play, ask an adult on duty or find another group.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «duty» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.