March Madness will propel a whole wave of new names into the national spotlight. One of them might prove especially challenging to pronounce.
Duquesne nabbed a golden ticket to the Big Dance after capturing the Atlantic-10 Championship. Now, the Dukes are prancing on the gleaming ballroom that is March Madness, hoping to twirl their hips just a little while longer underneath the star-shine.
The Pittsburgh-based school, led by Keith Dambrot and Dru Joyce III — two men with serious ties to Lakers superstar LeBron James — hasn't made an NCAA tournament appearance since Jimmy Carter's administration. As such, it's easy to forget that Duquesne isn't the most phonetically-appealing word, at least not at first glance. Many haven't been introduced to simple joy that is properly serenading the Dukes with their famous moniker.
So, just how does one pronounce Duquesne? And where does such a convoluted honorific come from? The Sporting News details the rise of the Dukes, and the beloved denomination that has come to represent them all.
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How do you pronounce Duquesne?
When peering through the looking glass, the word 'Duquesne' seems hard to pronounce. Is it DOO-quez-neh? How about DOO-queens?
As it turned out, neither pronunciation will do. The proper way to pronounce 'Duquesne' is Doo-CAIN.
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Duquesne meaning: What does the name represent?
The name 'Duquesne' didn't come out of thin air. In fact, it stems from the French Republic, owing its origins to Michel-Ange Duquesne de Menneville, a French naval governor who helped lead France in its clash with Great Britain during the French and Indian War.
Duquesne established a fort at the junction between the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, aptly called Fort Duquesne. The fortification was located in modern-day Pittsburgh, the same city where Duquesne University is located.
