doge

noun

ˈdōj 

: the chief magistrate in the republics of Venice and Genoa

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Slang Meaning of Doge

An intentional misspelling of dog, doge is an Internet meme involving a picture of a Shiba Inu dog captioned with humorously ungrammatical phrases. The word can also refer to a cryptocurrency, or to a ‘government efficiency’ task force. Learn more >

Examples of doge in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Villa Balbi, a palazzo hotel, still flies the flag of the Republic of Genoa, where its long-ago owners, the aristocratic Brignoles and Balbis, flourished and generated a number of the city’s doges. — Catherine Sabino, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

The complex includes Villa Contarini, which was built around 1550, and Villa Valier, also from the 16th century, associated with the Venetian noble Valier family which includes two heads of state, or doges, of the Venetian Republic. — Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 7 May 2026

This, the former home of a 14th-century doge (plus two more modern annexes), is the Venetian grande dame par excellence. — Travel + Leisure, 6 July 2021

Italians have been ruled by Caligula, Mussolini, Berlusconi, and all sorts of princes, popes, and doges. — Brian T. Allen, National Review, 10 Aug. 2019

The former private apartments of the doge—the supreme authority of the Venetian republic—now host rotating art exhibtions. — Dagmar Schwell, National Geographic, 8 May 2019

Today the doge still keeps a watchful eye from his portrait (a vintage copy of a Titian original) in a ground floor salon. — Jean Bond Rafferty, Town & Country, 17 Dec. 2012

Word History

Etymology

Italian dialect, from Latin duc-, dux leader — more at duke

First Known Use

1549, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for doge

• loge
• gamboge

Kids Definition

doge

noun

ˈdōj 

: the chief magistrate in the former republics of Venice and Genoa