公こう爵しゃく

こ

う

しゃ

く

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

A high-ranking noble title in European and Japanese peerage systems. In Japanese history, it was the highest of the five ranks (五等爵) established in the Meiji era. When referring to British royalty, 'prince' may be used for certain dukes, but the primary equivalent is 'duke'.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉を公こう爵しゃくに叙じょするto confer the title of duke on someone
彼かれは功こう績せきによって公こう爵しゃくに叙じょされた。
He was made a duke in recognition of his achievements.
公こう爵しゃくの位くらいを継つぐto succeed to a dukedom
長ちょう男なんが父ちちの死後しごご、公こう爵しゃくの位くらいを継ついだ。
The eldest son succeeded to the dukedom after his father's death.

Kanji

公public, prince, official
爵baron, peerage, court rank

Don't confuse with

侯こう爵しゃく
公爵 (duke) and 侯爵 (marquess) share the exact same reading こうしゃく despite denoting different peerage ranks, so context or kanji is needed to tell them apart.
伯はく爵しゃく
公爵 is a duke, the highest peerage rank, while 伯爵 is a count/earl, a middle rank, and the similar 爵-ending forms are easy to mix up.
男だん爵しゃく
公爵 (duke) is the top of the five Meiji-era peerage ranks, whereas 男爵 (baron) is the lowest, so learners should not confuse the two 爵 titles.

Word family

公こう爵しゃく夫ふ人じん
duchess; princess (consort of a duke)

Etymology

From Chinese 公爵 (gōngjué), a compound of 公 ('public; duke') and 爵 ('peerage rank'). Adopted into Japanese as a translation of Western noble titles during the Meiji period.