Marquis
//ˈmɑː.kwɪs// name, noun
name, noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 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 nobleman (in various countries) ranking above a count wordnet
- 3 Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genus Bassarona (or Euthalia).
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from French. countable, uncountable
- 2 A place name:; A town in Grenada, West Indies. countable, uncountable
- 3 A place name:; A new neighbourhood in north-east Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. countable, uncountable
- 4 A place name:; A rural municipality in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada; in full, the Rural Municipality of Marquis No. 191. countable, uncountable
- 5 A place name:; A village within the Saskatchewan municipality. countable, uncountable
Example
More examples"Every marquis wants to have pageboys."
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”).
Etymology 2
Borrowed from French marquis.
Related phrases
More for "marquis"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.