duty

n. obligation; responsibility; customs tax

Duty (from "due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, did, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. "debt") is a term that conveys a sense of moral commitment to someone or something. The moral commitment is the sort that results in action, and it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition. When someone recognizes a duty, they commit themselves to the cause involved without considering the self-interested courses of actions that may have been relevant previously. This is not to suggest that living a life of duty precludes one from the best sort of life, but duty does involve some sacrifice of immediate self-interest.
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Noun
1. work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons; "the duties of the job"
(hypernym) work
(hyponym) job, task, chore
2. the social force that binds you to your obligations and the courses of action demanded by that force; "we must instill a sense of duty in our children"; "every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty"- John D.Rockefeller Jr
(synonym) responsibility, obligation
(hypernym) social control
(hyponym) job
3. a government tax on imports or exports; "they signed a treaty to lower duties on trade between their countries"
(synonym) tariff
(hypernym) indirect tax
(hyponym) customs, customs duty, custom, impost

(n.)
The efficiency of an engine, especially a steam pumping engine, as measured by work done by a certain quantity of fuel; usually, the number of pounds of water lifted one foot by one bushel of coal (94 lbs. old standard), or by 1 cwt. (112 lbs., England, or 100 lbs., United States).
  

(n.)
That which is due; payment.
  

(n.)
That which a person is bound by moral obligation to do, or refrain from doing; that which one ought to do; service morally obligatory.
  

(n.)
Tax, toll, impost, or customs; excise; any sum of money required by government to be paid on the importation, exportation, or consumption of goods.
  

(n.)
Specifically, obedience or submission due to parents and superiors.
  

(n.)
Respect; reverence; regard; act of respect; homage.
  

(n.)
Hence, any assigned service or business; as, the duties of a policeman, or a soldier; to be on duty.
  

Dharma (Sanskrit) [from the verbal root dhri to bear, support] Equity, justice, conduct, duty; right religion, philosophy, and science; the law per se; the rules of society, caste, and stage of life. Secondarily, an essential or characteristic quality or peculiarity, approaching closely to the meaning of svabhava.
Also a sage who married ten or thirteen daughters of Daksha, a judge of the dead; the personification of law and justice. In the Mahabharata, the father of Yudhishthira, chief of the Pandavas.