What does duchess mean?
Word: Duchess
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Duchess means a woman of very high noble rank in Britain and some other countries, just below a princess.
How do you spell duchess?
Syllables: duch - ess
Tricky part: There is no t before the ch, even though the first part sounds just like the word Dutch. Children add it without thinking.
Watch out for: dutchess, duches
Memory tip: A duchess may be very grand, but she is not Dutch, so leave out the t.
Duchess in a sentence
Example 1: The duchess waved to the crowd from an open carriage.
Example 2: In the story, a kind duchess opens her garden to the village children.
Example 3: A duchess came to open the new children's library in London.
Fun Fact
British afternoon tea became popular in the 1840s, and it is often linked to Anna, Duchess of Bedford, who enjoyed tea and cakes in the afternoon.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Select the masculine form of the word:
duchess
a) earl
b) duke
c) lord
d) prince
Show answer
b) duke. A duke and a duchess hold the same rank; lord, earl and prince each pair with a different title for a woman.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
dehcsus
a) hostess
b) actress
c) duchess
d) empress
Show answer
c) duchess. All four end the same way, but hostess needs an o and a t, actress an a, a t and an r, and empress an m, a p and an r.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
d_ch_ss
a) u, i
b) a, e
c) u, e
d) o, e
Show answer
c) u, e. Cup gives you the sound of the first gap, and a weak e fills the second.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) duchess
b) coronnation
c) roialty
d) magesty
Show answer
a) duchess. Majesty has a j, coronation has one n in the middle, and royalty has a y after the o.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Where would you most expect to read about a duchess?
a) in a guide to growing tomatoes
b) in a workbook of long division
c) in a printed list of train times
d) in a book about kings and queens
Show answer
d) in a book about kings and queens
2. On a grand occasion, a duchess might wear ____.
a) a chef's apron
b) a hockey helmet
c) a jewelled tiara
d) a welder's mask
Show answer
c) a jewelled tiara
