1250–1300; Middle English markis < Middle French marquis < Italian marchese < Medieval Latin *( comēs ) marc ( h ) ēnsis (count) of a borderland. See march 2, -ese
A marquis is a nobleman. If you're a marquis, your rank is higher than a baron or a count, but lower than a duke or a prince. In systems like monarchies, where people inherit a certain rank, a marquis is one of the title given to men. The French spelling, marquis, is common in most parts of Europe, although in Britain they prefer marquess. Sometimes being a marquis includes some real power to rule a territory, but it's more often just an honorary title. The equivalent for a woman is being a marchioness.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The View, New York’s only revolving restaurant, was renovated by Danny Meyer in 2025 atop the Marriott Marquis Hotel.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
In the 1780s Thomas Jefferson was serving as a diplomat in France when the Marquis de Lafayette brought him a message of unwelcome news from Virginia: His young daughter Lucy had died of whooping cough.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
Here is Scottish newsreader Mary Marquis as Juliet in a 1955 production of Romeo and Juliet.
From BBC • Jan. 2, 2026
But Patricia Marquis of the Royal College of Nursing warned the redundancies could backfire.
From BBC • Nov. 12, 2025
“The event takes place in the grand ballroom of the Imperial Marquis Hotel!”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
