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.
A 2005 biography of Bradford suggested she was indeed descended from lofty stock by way of her mother, who was, it said, the illegitimate daughter of a marquis.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2024
Lamb, meanwhile, one of Fetterman’s chief primary opponents in the state’s marquis Senate contest, is eager to hear Biden’s remarks on his sweeping infrastructure bill in person.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2022
Daly presented her with a five-carat marquis diamond ring.
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 20, 2020
An homage to Markle’s sensibilities, the Grace collection features marquis diamond earrings, bracelets, rings and necklaces.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2019
The marquis was 19 when he left France and reported to General Washington in Philadelphia in 1777.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
After the Ballet Russe disbanded, Monson de Kansky toured with the Marquis de Cuevas ballet company for nine years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
High above them is New York’s only revolving restaurant, bluntly named The View, perhaps because it is improbably located atop the 1980s-era Marriott Marquis Hotel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
He joins us at the swanky Sunset Marquis hotel in West Hollywood where rock stars have gathered for decades in a luxury oasis behind the Sunset Strip.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
Here is Scottish newsreader Mary Marquis as Juliet in a 1955 production of Romeo and Juliet.
From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2026
In 1824 the Marquis de Lafayette, the great French champion of American independence, paid a final visit to America.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
“If those marquises came back to life and saw this house, they would surely die again,” joked Elayne Clavel, 26, wife of musician Villa.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
He became a close friend of counts, marquises and businesspeople, too.
From New York Times ● Oct. 18, 2014
The list was spattered with landowners, containing 11 dukes, six marquises, 14 earls and nine viscounts.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2013
There are approximately 28 dukes, 42 marquises, 230 earls, 103 viscounts, 484 barons in the peerage at present, not including the 27 women who hold titles in their own right.
From Time Magazine Archive
I am always doing that; and the worst of it is that I did it not long ago at a grand dinner, at a banker's house, where there were marquises and deputies.
From San-Cravate; or, The Messengers; Little Streams by Kock, Charles Paul de
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.
