marquisses

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A form of 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.

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Meanings

noun
  1. obsoletepluralplural of marquis

    The sins against propriety in manners are as frequent and as glaring. I do not speak of the hoyden vivacity, harlot tenderness, and dancing-school affability, with which vulgar novel-writers always deck out their countesses and principessas, chevaliers, dukes, and marquisses; […]

    1821, Letters to Richard Heber, Esq. Containing Critical Remarks on the Series of Novels Beginning with “Waverley,” and an Attempt to Ascertain Their Author., London: […] Rodwell and Martin, […], page 34
    2 more examples

    To begin then: not long before this paragraph was written, P fell into doze, and dreamt, he saw Jacob's ladder with one foot standing on the earth, the other reaching up into heaven. Dukes, Marquisses, and other Peers, fancy represented to him, as standing on the upper stales; on the middle ones, Knights and Baronets, and under them, a train of Esquires and Gentlemen, reaching to the bottom.

    1792, Thomas Paine, A Rod in Brine, or a tickler for T. Paine, page 16

    The knights present were Earl Moira, Duke of Montrose, the Marquis of Wellesley, Marquisses of Hertford and Stafford, Earls of Chesterfield and Winchelsea, Marquis Camden, Earl of Carlisle, Earl of Westmoreland, and their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Cambridge, Cumberland, Kent, Clarence, and York, followed by Black-rod, the Register, and Garter, the Prelate, and finally His Royal Highness the Prince Regent.

    1814, Francis L. Clarke, The Life of the Most Noble Arthur Marquis and Earl of Wellington, […], volume II, London: […] J. and J. Cundee, […], page 299

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

marquisess
Cite this entry
APA

marquisses. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marquisses

MLA

“marquisses.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marquisses. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “marquisses,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marquisses.

Source: marquisses on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.