marquis

[mahr-kwis, mahr-kee; French mar-kee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR marquis ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural mar·quis·es [mahr-kwi-siz,] /ˈmɑr kwɪ sɪz,/ mar·quis [mahr-keez; French mar-kee] /mɑrˈkiz; French marˈki/.

a nobleman ranking next below a duke and above an earl or count.

Also British, marquess.

Origin of marquis

1250–1300; Middle English markis < Middle French marquis < Italian marchese < Medieval Latin *(comēs) marc(h)ēnsis (count) of a borderland. See march², -ese

Can be confusedmarque marquee marquess marquis marquise

Marquis

[mahr-kwis]

noun

Don(ald Robert Perry),1878–1937, U.S. humorist and poet.

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

Related Words for marquis

aristocrat, patrician, emperor, commander, liege, captain, prince, nobleman, superior, overlord, baron, sovereign, bishop, potentate, monarch, leader, dad, noble, ruler, peer

Examples from the Web for marquis

Contemporary Examples of marquis

The French aristocrat Marquis de Sade once said that “It is only by way of pain one arrives at pleasure.”
The Twisted Sadism of ‘Borgman’
Alex Suskind
June 28, 2014
Her husband was the Marquis of Lorne when she married him, later the 9th Duke of Argyll.
Queen Victoria's Illegitimate Grandchild
Tom Sykes
November 28, 2013
Marquis says online ads, phone calls, and follow-up emails soliciting money directly for Ken Cuccinelli will follow shortly.
StopHillary Super PAC Goes After McAuliffe in Virginia Race
Michelle Cottle
September 18, 2013
Marquis et al. are looking to fry a much bigger, much blonder political fish.
StopHillary Super PAC Goes After McAuliffe in Virginia Race
Michelle Cottle
September 18, 2013
That same evening, they are entertaining a local landowner, the Marquis de Cambremer.
David's Bookclub: Sodom and Gomorrah
David Frum
September 29, 2012

Historical Examples of marquis

The Marquis found Vienna less gay than it was on his former visit.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
But the Marquis has no mercy on the performances of poor Miss Pardoe.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
The Marquis made a round of the principal of those mansions.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
The Marquis had naturally expected to find him in the midst of pomp.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
Cannot we go to them, who do not seek the hospitality of the marquis?
Fair Margaret
H. Rider Haggard

British Dictionary definitions for marquis

marquis

noun plural -quises or -quis

(in various countries) a nobleman ranking above a count, corresponding to a British marquess. The title of marquis is often used in place of that of marquess

Word Origin for marquis

C14: from Old French marchis, literally: count of the march, from marche march ²

Marquis

noun

Don (ald Robert Perry). 1878–1937, US humorist; author of archy and mehitabel (1927)

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 marquis

also marquess, c.1300, title of nobility, from Old French marchis, literally "ruler of a border area," from Old French marche "frontier," from Medieval Latin marca "frontier, frontier territory" (see march (n.1)). Originally the ruler of border territories in various European regions (e.g. Italian marchese, Spanish marqués); later a mere title of rank, below duke and above count. Related: Marquisate.