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deuce²

(ds, dys) Informal

1. The devil: "Love is a bodily infirmity ... which breaks out the deuce knows how or why" (William Makepeace Thackeray).

2. An outstanding example, especially of something difficult or bad: a deuce of a family row.

3. A severe reprimand or expression of anger: got the deuce for being late.

4. Used as an intensive: What the deuce were they thinking of?

[Probably from Low German duus, a throw of two in dice games, bad luck, ultimately from Latin duo, two; see DEUCE¹.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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