marquis
noun
a nobleman ranking next below a duke and above an earl or count.
marquis
1 American
[mahr-kwis, mahr-kee, ma r -kee]
/ ˈmɑr kwɪs, mɑrˈki, marˈki /
noun
-
marquises,
plural
-
marquis
plural
Marquis
2
American
[mahr-kwis]
/ ˈmɑr kwɪs /
noun
Marquis
1
British
/ ˈmɑːkwɪs /
noun
marquis
2
British
/ ˈmɑːkwɪs, marki, mɑːˈkiː /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of marquis
1250–1300; Middle English markis < Middle French marquis < Italian marchese < Medieval Latin *( comēs ) marc ( h ) ēnsis (count) of a borderland. See march 2, -ese
Explanation
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.
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.
See Examples For:
Hilton agrees to concede defeat when Villaraigosa promises to make him the marquis of Huntington Beach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2025
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
What keeps the whole thing from drifting completely off into the ether is how Mrs. Harris and the marquis bond over the loss of a loved one.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 11, 2023
Daly presented her with a five-carat marquis diamond ring.
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 20, 2020
L’Hôpital was so enthralled by the new mathematics that he persuaded Bernoulli to send him all Bernoulli’s new mathematical discoveries for the marquis to use as he desired, in return for cash.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
On a summer afternoon, his daughters, Gabrielle and Katerina, sit at the Sunset Marquis bar, recounting their father’s remarkable life — particularly his championing of soccer and his contributions to the sport.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
David Prystajko, 44, was found dead at a property on Marquis Road on Saturday 22 November 2025.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Vérots reviewed the Marquis de Cuevas ballet company’s performance of “Les Sylphides.”
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
“Lafayette, we are here!” the Americans announced—a tribute to the Marquis de Lafayette, who sailed to America at the age of nineteen and served as a volunteer under George Washington during the American Revolutionary War.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
“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
Each evening Louis XV pretended to occupy the monumental bed in the grandiose official apartment of Louis XIV at Versailles, while grand dukes and marquises vied to hold a candle or the King's nightshirt.
From Time Magazine Archive
The two marquises were left in possession of the dining-room and the wine.
From Robert Tournay A Romance of the French Revolution by William Sage
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.
