Margrave
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A feudal era military-administrative officer of comital rank in the Carolingian empire and some successor states, originally in charge of a border area. historical
"1973: Among pulverised heads of stone margraves and electors, reconnoitering a likely-looking cabbage patch, all of a sudden Slothrop picks up the scent of an unmistakable no it can’t be yes it is it’s a REEFER! — Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow"
- 2 a German nobleman ranking above a count (corresponding in rank to a British marquess) wordnet
- 3 A hereditary ruling prince in certain feudal states of the Holy Roman Empire and elsewhere; the titular equivalent became known as marquis or marquess. historical
"The Margrave of Bruges was their head."
- 4 the military governor of a frontier province in medieval Germany wordnet
Example
More examples"1973: Among pulverised heads of stone margraves and electors, reconnoitering a likely-looking cabbage patch, all of a sudden Slothrop picks up the scent of an unmistakable no it can’t be yes it is it’s a REEFER! — Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow"
Etymology
From Middle Dutch marcgrāve (modern Dutch markgraaf), cognate with Old High German marcgrāvo (modern German Markgraf), from Proto-Germanic *markō (“boundary; boundary marker”) + *grafa (“military rank”), from Latin graphio. More at mark, graft. Compare marchion, marquis, landgrave.
Related phrases
More for "margrave"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.