The Doge's ring
Preserved but no longer current.
The doge of Venice, on Ascension Day, used to throw a ring into the sea from the ship Bucentaur (q.v.\ to denote that the Adriatic was subject to the republic of Venice as a wife is subject to her husband. See DOGE.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The Doge's ring” mean?
The doge of Venice, on Ascension Day, used to throw a ring into the sea from the ship Bucentaur (q.v.\ to denote that the Adriatic was subject to the republic of Venice as a wife is subject to her husband. See DOGE.
Is “The Doge's ring” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.