noun
marquess
MAH-kwihs
noun
1
A nobleman ranking below a duke and above an earl.
"The marquess inherited the estate from his late father."
How to Use Marquess
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA British noble rank, between duke and earl.
Common mistake
Despite the "-ess" ending, a marquess is male; the female equivalent is a marchioness.
Easily confused with
Word Forms
marquesses plural
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The _____ inherited the estate from his late father.
Etymology
A variant of marquis; unusually for English, marquess ends in "-ess" yet refers to a man, since the "-ess" here comes from the French spelling rather than marking the feminine.