doge

Etymology 1

From Venetian Doxe or Italian doge, from Latin ducem, accusative of dux (“leader, prince”). Doublet of duke and dux.

noun

1. (historical) The chief magistrate in the republics of Venice and Genoa.
   In the thirteenth century, a new method of appointing the doge, by the famous ballot of Venice, a complicated mixture of choice and chance, was adopted. 1797, John Adams, A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States, page 62
   This reply was one of the first important pronouncements to be made by Antonio Grimani, who on 6 July had been elected seventy-fourth Doge of Venice in succession to Leonardo Loredan. 1982, John Julius Norwich, chapter 34, in A History of Venice, page 346

Etymology 2

From dog. First attested in the 2005 episode Biz Cas Fri 1 from Homestar Runner.

noun

1. (Internet slang, humorous) A dog.
2. (Internet slang, humorous) Specifically, a Shiba Inu, as in the doge meme.
   Bobsled wasn't the only Dogecoin-backed sporting success. Fans of Nascar will recognise the car driven by Josh Wise, emblazoned, as it is, with the adorable little doge on its bonnet (pictured above). 2015-07-23, Dave Lee, “Six times Reddit wasn't completely awful”, in BBC