I. ˈd(y)ü adjective
Etymology: Middle English dewe, due, from Middle French deu (past participle of devoir to owe), from Latin debitus, past participle of debēre to owe — more at debt
1. : owed or owing as a debt
2. obsolete : owed or owing as a necessity : fated , inevitable
3.
a. : owed or owing in accordance with natural or moral right
every character gets the reward or the punishment due to his wit and address or his lack of both — J.W.Krutch
such awe is due to the high name of God — P.B.Shelley
b. : requisite or appropriate in accordance with accepted notions of what is right, reasonable, fitting, or necessary
representatives … who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form — Charter of the United Nations
will exercise this right with due respect to their obligations — Gilbert Seldes
he has written with care and skill, with due regard for beauty and suitability of style — L.R.McColvin
4.
a. : satisfying or capable of satisfying a need, requirement, obligation, or duty : adequate , sufficient
education for adults is receiving due attention
walking all the while in due fear of the Lord — Guy McCrone
seafaring activities which in due course came to be so vital a part of English life — Kemp Malone
b. : regular , lawful
indemnity for loss will be paid subject to due proof of loss
— see due process of law
5. : owing or attributable : ascribable — used with to
this advance is partly due to a few men of genius — A.N.Whitehead
his success was due to his persistence
— compare due to
6. : having reached the date at which payment is required : payable — used especially of a note or obligation in which the time for payment is specified
7. : required or expected in the prescribed, normal, or logical course of events : scheduled
tax legislation that Congress is due to consider
the train is due at noon
specifically : about to bring forth young
Synonyms:
rightful , condign : due applies to what is owing or obligatory in accordance with legal agreements, formal procedure, or sanctioned ways or with what is just, right, or reasonable
driving fast but with due caution
tried according to due processes of law
with due religious rites
the parishes sent their due contingent of armed men — J.R.Green
the characteristically Greek love of moderation, proportion, harmony, and due measure — Lucius Garvin
so painful a scandal may well be allowed to die out. With due discretion the incident itself may, however, be described — A.C.Doyle
rightful applies to what is right, just, equitable, fair, or fitting; it is commonly used in situations in which these characteristics have been, or are in danger of being, ignored, lost sight of, or flouted
looked askance, jealous of an encroacher on his rightful domain — Nathaniel Hawthorne
the disloyal subject who had fought against his rightful sovereign — T.B.Macaulay
happy the man at such a period, who enjoys a bedroom which he can secure with a key — for without such precaution the rightful possessor is not at all unlikely, on entering his own premises, to find three or four somewhat rough-looking strangers — Anthony Trollope
years of neglect followed, but it finally acquired its rightful place among the nation's hallowed relics — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania
condign indicates what is exactly or fitly deserving or meriting; it now applies more frequently to punishments than to anything else
trembled with rage as he lay, and he resolved on condign revenge — Arthur Morrison
to defy those papal laws which protected clerical sinners from condign punishment — G.G.Coulton
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English dewe, due, from dewe, due adjective
1.
a. : something that is due or owed : something that rightfully belongs to a person or thing
was denied the promotion which his scientific colleagues thought his due — Anthony Harris
those advanced in culture and in wealth longed to have their due in social recognition — Oscar Handlin
the southern talent for government has won the recognition which is its due — Adlai Stevenson b. 1900
b. : a payment or obligation required by custom, law, morality, ethics : debt
revenue … from the feudal dues of his vassals and towns — Hilaire Belloc
c. dues plural : the fee or charge required for membership, affiliation, initiation, use, subscription
dues are five dollars a year
2. obsolete : just title or claim : right
3. : postage-due stamp
Synonyms:
desert , merit : due in this sense is likely to suggest a quite apt or fitting reward decided upon judiciously and with consideration
giving each man his due … impartial as the rain from Heaven's face — Vachel Lindsay
this qualified respect, the old man's due, is paid without reluctance — William Wordsworth
desert is likely to suggest a reward rightly owed in view of ethics, fairness, moral right
the manly desire to exercise the talents which are given us by Heaven and reap the prize of our desert — W.M.Thackeray
but families of less illustrious fame whose chief distinction is their spotless name must shine by their true desert — William Cowper
merit stresses the existence of qualities or actions worth consideration in connection with rewards or punishments rather than the fact of their being considered or judged
had this latter part of the charge been true, no merits on the side of the question which I took could possibly excuse me — Edmund Burke
but originality, as it is one of the highest, is also one of the rarest, of merits — E.A.Poe
III. adverb
Etymology: due (I)
1. obsolete : duly
2. : directly , exactly
the road runs due north
IV. transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English duen, from Middle French douer, from Latin dotare, from dot-, dos dower — more at dower
obsolete : endue : endow