herzog

H4E1R1Z10O1G2

noun

A German duke.

Less commonScrabble 19

Meanings

herzog1

nounherzog (plural herzogs)

plural herzogs

  1. A German duke.

    Germany had its herzogs and landgrafs, each of whom had his territories, where he ruled, “monarch of all he surveyed.”

    1847, Washington M’Cartney, The Origin and Progress of the United States, Philadelphia, Pa.: E. H. Butler & Co., pages 58–59
    5 more examples

    He was a herzog, going to meet the Queen of England; stopped for the slightest possible refreshment—a glass of Rhenish and a biscuit—and going on at once.

    1848, the author of “Paddiana,” etc., “Difficulties in a Tour to Wiesbaden”, in Bentley’s Miscellany, volume XXIII, London: Richard Bentley, […], page 188

    You may luxuriate through the smoke on apparitions of dainty German damsels; or, if you are of a chivalrous temperament, on brightly-tinted herzogs and burgraves, performing noble feats of arms; or, if your taste leads you further back to the antique, the gods of peace are not wanting to consecrate the pipe of peace.

    1851, The Illustrated Exhibitor, a Tribute to the World’s Industrial Jubilee; Comprising Sketches, by Pen and Pencil, of the Principal Objects in the Great Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, London: […] John Cassell, […], page 307

    Feudal nobles divided Europe into numerous principalities: Spain had some twenty or more little princedoms; Germany no small number of herzogs and landgraves; Portugal her nobility; England, though more consolidated than any other state yet mentioned, yet had many Earls, Dukes and Counts, who bore an almost kingly rule over their narrow possessions.

    1852, R. M., “God in the History of Our Country”, in The Presbyterian Casket, page 40

    It therefore follows that only those families of the high nobility abroad, viz., the herzogs and a few landgraves in Germany, and in France the dukes and two or three of the feudatory comtes, can claim our peerage (dukes to barons) as equals, while the marquesses in France and the margraves and grafs of the Empire in Germany—if the latter are the titular chiefs of their families—are equal to our rank of baronet, the next rank (but without parliamentary seat) in England below the peerage; […]

    1901, The Genealogical Magazine, page 19

    The herzogs and the bishops hampered political independence, and the attempts of some German Carolingians to restore the empire fell through.

    1968, Simon Dubnov, translated by Moshe Spiegel, History of the Jews: From the Roman Empire to the Early Medieval Period, volume 2, South Brunswick, N.J.; New York, N.Y.; London: Thomas Yoseloff, A. S. Barnes and Co., Inc., →LCCN, page 562

Herzog2

proper nounHerzog (plural Herzogs)

plural Herzogs · alternative Hartsoe · alternative Hartzog

  1. A surname from German.

Origin

herzog · noun

  1. GermanHerzog
  2. Englishherzog

From German Herzog. Doublet of heretog and heretoga.

Full word history & related roots →

Herzog · proper noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ker-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kóryos
  3. Proto-Germanic*harjaz
  4. Proto-West Germanic*hari
  5. Proto-Indo-European*dewk-?
  6. Proto-West Germanic*togō
  7. Ancient Greekστρατηγός (stratēgós)
  8. Proto-West Germanic*harjatogō
  9. Old High Germanherizogo
  10. Middle High Germanherzog
  11. GermanHerzog
  12. EnglishHerzog

Borrowed from German Herzog.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

herzog. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/herzog

MLA

“herzog.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/herzog. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “herzog,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/herzog.

Source: herzog on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.