Marquise

The word entered the English language from the Old French “marchis” (ruler of a border area) in the late 13th or early 14th-century. The French word was derived from “marche” (frontier), itself descended from the Middle Latin “marca” (border), from which the modern English words “march” and “mark” also descend. A Marquess or Marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and those of some of their former colonies. The term is also used to translate equivalent oriental styles, as in imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam (Annam). In the United Kingdom, the title ranks below a duke and above an earl.