noun
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(in the British Isles) a nobleman ranking between a duke and an earl
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See marquis
Etymology
Origin of marquess
Spelling variant of marquis
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The impudence of a bawd is modesty compared with that of a convert,” said George Savile, the first marquess of Halifax.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
One of the very first salons, hosted in Paris by a marquess named Catherine de Vivonne, happened in the early 1600s after a period of religious warfare.
From New York Times ● Aug. 28, 2021
David Michael Mountbatten, the marquess of Milford Haven and second cousin to King George VI, stayed with them at the home before his wedding in 1950.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 30, 2016
"Furious residents" have launched a "peasants revolt" on Facebook, but they have been told the marquess wants to safeguard his ancestral or "manorial rights" that are due to expire.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2013
“The marquess made sure Dumas could fence. Skilled, courageous, Dumas was famous right up to the day he was jailed.”
From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
