marquis
See also: Marquis
English
Alternative forms
- marquess
Etymology
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 *marǵ- (“edge, boundary”).
Meaning is “lord of the march”, in sense of march (“border country”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈmɑː.kwɪs/
- (General American) IPA(key): /mɑɹ.ˈki/, /ˈmɑɹ.kwɪs/
- (General American, for the plural spelled marquis) IPA(key): /mɑɹ.ˈkiz/
Noun
marquis (plural marquises or marquis)
- 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.
- Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genus Bassarona (or Euthalia).
Derived terms
- marchioness
- marquee
- marquisate
Translations
nobleman — see marquess
References
- marquis in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
Anagrams
- asquirm
Catalan
Verb
marquis
- second-person singular present subjunctive form of marcar
French
Etymology
Old French marchis, from the same origin as marcher.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /maʁ.ki/
Audio (file)
Noun
marquis m (plural marquis, feminine marquise)
- marquess (title of nobility)
Further reading
- “marquis”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.