1250–1300; Middle English markis < Middle French marquis < Italian marchese < Medieval Latin *( comēs ) marc ( h ) ēnsis (count) of a borderland. See march 2, -ese
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.
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This spring and summer, the National Archives is mounting a special exhibition here about the Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat who played a key role in the American Revolution.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026
He joins us at the swanky Sunset Marquis hotel in West Hollywood where rock stars have gathered for decades in a luxury oasis behind the Sunset Strip.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
Marquis is pictured with fellow student Nancy Mitchell.
From BBC • Jan. 2, 2026
“The People’s Mixtape” was recorded earlier this year in Brooklyn, N.Y., with Mr. Paul, keyboardist Jeremiah Chiu, trumpeter and percussionist Marquis Hill, and vibraphonist Joel Ross.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025
The success of scientific theories, particularly Newton’s theory of gravity, led the French scientist the Marquis de Laplace at the beginning of the nineteenth century to argue that the universe was completely deterministic.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
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.
