margrave

[mahr-greyv]

noun

(formerly) the hereditary title of the rulers of certain European states.

History/Historical. a hereditary German title, equivalent to marquis.

(originally) a military governor of a German mark, or border province.

Origin of margrave

1545–55; earlier marcgrave < Middle Dutch, equivalent to marke border (cognate with march²) + grave count (cognate with reeve¹); compare German Markgraf

Related formsmar·gra·vi·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for margrave

Historical Examples of margrave

The Margrave of Rudesheimer was a slender man of elegant appearance.
Vivian Grey
Earl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli
The Margrave was astounded, the people in raptures, and the cousins in despair.
Vivian Grey
Earl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli
She had gone to Bayreuth, where she had been the margrave's mistress.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
"'Tis clear as the staff of a pike," said the poor Margrave, mournfully.
Burlesques
William Makepeace Thackeray
In accents broken by grief, the Margrave explained what had occurred.
Burlesques
William Makepeace Thackeray

British Dictionary definitions for margrave

margrave

noun

a German nobleman ranking above a count. Margraves were originally counts appointed to govern frontier provinces, but all had become princes of the Holy Roman Empire by the 12th century

Word Origin for margrave

C16: from Middle Dutch markgrave, literally: count of the march ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for margrave

military governor of a German border province, 1550s, from Middle Dutch markgrave (Dutch markgraaf), literally "count of the border," from Old High German marcgravo; second element from graf "count, earl" (Old High German gravo, gravjo), from West Germanic *grafa "a designation of rank, possibly borrowed from Greek grapheus "scribe." For first element see mark (n.1). Later a hereditary title under the Holy Roman Empire. His wife was a margravine.