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marquis

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Etymology and origin of the French word marquis

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1225 Péan Gatineau, Vie de saint Martin More words from the 13th century
Borrowed from
Italian marchese
Ultimate origin
Frankish *marka
Derivations

Pronunciation

Forms

marquis m (invariable, feminine marquise)[1] Old French marchis, which the Italian-influenced form replaced.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian marchese, a hereditary title of a lord governing a region of several counties, at first a lord in charge of a frontier region or march, derived from marca (“march”).[2][5][6] The form was adapted after Old French marchis (“governor of a march”) (from about 1100 to 1524), derived from marche1 “frontier” with the suffix -is, which it supplanted.[2][5][3] Rey adds that the Italian word had itself shaped its ending on the Old French word.[5] Bloch and Wartburg see the word as a remaking of the Old French word after the Italian.[3] The French noun goes back to *marka.[7][8]

Cognate with Spanish marqués and Portuguese marquês.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Péan Gatineau's Vie de saint Martin (about 1225) uses it for an Italian title of nobility, that of Boniface of Montferrat in Piedmont.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

At first the word was used only of Italians, but since the 15th or 16th century also of Frenchmen too.[3][7] It became a lordly title attached to an estate raised to a marquisat (1651, Scarron), then a rank between duke and count.[7][5][6] A general use as a fanciful title is found in Martial d'Auvergne (about 1460, le marquis des Fleurs), and in 1536 it stands beside dukes and counts.[2]

In the 17th century the comedy, especially Molière, made the marquis a ridiculous, conceited courtier, and the word came to mean an affected, elegant man, petit marquis in the 18th century.[5][7] Marquis de Carabas, a man who boasts of great estates, comes from the tale of Puss in Boots.[9][7] In 1931 the Larousse records marquis for a small hat with rolled brim and three points.[10][7]

Timeline

  • c. 1225 – Marquis is used for an Italian title in Péan Gatineau.[2]
  • c. 1460 – Martial d'Auvergne uses it as a fanciful title.[2]
  • 1472 – The feminine marquise is recorded.[5]
  • 1474 – Marquisat is recorded.[3][5]
  • 1524 – The last record of marchis.[2]
  • 1651 – Scarron uses it for a title attached to an estate.[7]
  • 1931 – The Larousse records it for a kind of hat.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A marquess, marquis: a nobleman ranking below a duke and above a count: Monsieur le Marquis.[11][6]
  2. (history) A military governor of a Frankish marche, a frontier province.[6][2]
  3. (history) The title attached to an estate raised to a marquisat, and its holder.[6][2]
  4. (dated) Petit marquis: a conceited, affected young man.[5][7]

Word family

Usage notes

Littré notes that the final s is sounded in liaison: un marquis élégant.[9] Le divin marquis is the Marquis de Sade.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 523a
  9. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Marquis.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/marquis. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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