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marque1

[mahrk]
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noun
  1. letter of marque.
  2. Obsolete. seizure by way of reprisal or retaliation.
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Origin of marque1

1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French < Provençal marca seizure by warrant (orig. token) < Germanic; see mark1

marque2

[mahrk]
noun
  1. a product model or type, as of a luxury or racing car.
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Origin of marque2

1905–10; < French: literally, mark, sign, noun derivative of marquer to mark, probably dial. derivative of Old French merc, merche boundary, boundary marker < Old Norse merki (from same Germanic base as march2, mark1, marque1

La Marque

[luh-mahrk]
noun
  1. a city in SE coastal Texas.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for marque

Historical Examples

  • Letters of Marque were granted by the Governor of the Mauritius.

    Famous Privateersmen and Adventurers of the Sea

    Charles H. L. Johnston

  • Also a colloquialism for marque, as a letter of mart or marque.

    The Sailor's Word-Book

    William Henry Smyth

  • And what did your letters of marque say as to the Portuguese slaver we sank in the Gaboons?

    Athelstane Ford

    Allen Upward

  • Of course we are really a trader, though we do carry a letter of marque.

  • "You mean she is able to see anybody on the platform," said Marque, confused and astounded.

    The Gay Rebellion

    Robert W. Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for marque

marque

noun
  1. a brand of product, esp of a car
  2. an emblem or nameplate used to identify a product, esp a car
  3. See letter of marque
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Word Origin

from French, from marquer to mark 1
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 marque

n.

"seizure by way of reprisal," mid-15c., in letters of marque "official permission to capture enemy merchant ships," from Anglo-French mark (mid-14c.), via Old French from Old Provençal marca "reprisal," from marcar "seize as a pledge, mark," probably from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German marchon "delimit, mark;" see mark (n.1)), but the sense evolution is difficult.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper