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marquis

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marquis¹

  • /ˈmɑː.kwɪs/ UK
  • /mɑɹˈki/ US
  • /ˈmɑɹ.kwɪs/ US
  • /mɑɹˈkiz/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English markis, from Old French markis, marchis, from Late Latin marchensis, from Old High German marcha and Frankish *marku, from Proto-Germanic *markō, from Proto-Indo-European *mórǵs (“edge, boundary”).

Meaning is “lord of the march”, in sense of march (“border country”).

noun marquises · marquis · marquisses · marquess · marquesse

  1. A nobleman in England, France, and Germany, of a rank next below that of duke, but above a count. Originally, the marquis was an officer whose duty was to guard the marches or frontiers of the kingdom. The office has ceased, and the name is now a mere title conferred by letters patent or letters close.
  2. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genus Bassarona (or Euthalia).

Marquis²

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French marquis.

proper noun Marquises

  1. countable, uncountable A surname from French.
  2. countable, uncountable A town in Grenada, West Indies.
  3. countable, uncountable A new neighbourhood in north-east Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
  4. countable, uncountable A rural municipality in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada; in full, the Rural Municipality of Marquis No. 191.
  5. countable, uncountable A village within the Saskatchewan municipality.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: marx, marks, nobleman, margrave, marchese, marqués, markgraf, seigneur, peer, aristocrat, grandee, baron, viscount, count, earl, lord

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MLA

"marquis." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/marquis. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

marquis. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/marquis

Chicago

"marquis." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/marquis.

BibTeX
@misc{marquis_2026,
  title = {marquis},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/marquis},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}