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

Other words from margrave

mar·gra·vi·al, adjective

Words Nearby margrave

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use margrave in a sentence

He is referred to by the historian Widukind as a preses, and is sometimes called the “great margrave.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 8 | Various
In Paris, the margrave favoured her with so little of his company that she felt constrained to inquire the reason.
Queens of the French Stage | H. Noel Williams
The margrave made considerable Augmentations to this House, and render'd it very commodious.
The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume I | Karl Ludwig von Pllnitz
The margrave's Palace is a great old Pile, but not very commodious, and meanly furnish'd.
The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume I | Karl Ludwig von Pllnitz
These, when the margrave goes abroad, attend him on horseback, dress'd like Hussurs.
The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume I | Karl Ludwig von Pllnitz

British Dictionary definitions for margrave

margrave

/ (ˈmɑːˌɡreɪv) /

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

Origin of 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

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