Meaning & use
marchioness
Last updated
UK/ˌmɑːʃəˈnes/
US/ˈmɑːrʃənəs/
Meaning
nouncountableformal
A woman who holds the rank of marquess in her own right, or who is the wife or widow of one.
Grammar: Used as a title with a name: the Marchioness of Bath.
Patterns
- the Marchioness of somewhere
- Lady someone, marchioness
The marchioness greeted the guests at the door of the old castle.
She became a marchioness when her husband inherited the title.
The marchioness opened her gardens to the public each summer.
Word forms
| plural | marchionesses |
|---|
Common combinations
- the Marchioness of
- The Marchioness of Bath lived in a grand house.
- a dowager marchioness
- The dowager marchioness was widowed young.
- marchioness and marquess
- The marchioness and marquess hosted a dinner.
- become a marchioness
- She became a marchioness by marriage.
Synonyms and how they differ
- marquise
- Marquise is the French form and used in continental titles, whereas marchioness is the usual British word.
- noblewoman
- Noblewoman is a general term for any woman of the nobility, while marchioness names an exact rank.
- lady
- Lady is a polite title for several ranks, but it does not tell the exact rank like marchioness does.
Word family
- marquess noun
- a nobleman ranking between duke and earl
- marquis noun
- a variant of marquess, used outside Britain
- marquisate noun
- the rank or lands of a marquess
- march noun
- a border region, the origin of the title
Commonly confused: marchioness or duchess?
marchioness vs duchess
A duchess ranks higher than a marchioness in the British peerage.
Practice
Which title belongs to the wife of a marquess?
Choose one answer.
The wife of a marquess is a marchioness. A duchess is the wife of a duke, a countess of an earl or count, and a baroness of a baron.
Make it your own
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