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margrave

American  
[mahr-greyv] / ˈmɑr greɪv /

noun

  1. (formerly) the hereditary title of the rulers of certain European states.

  2. History/Historical. a hereditary German title, equivalent to marquis.

  3. (originally) a military governor of a German mark, or border province.

margrave British  
/ ˈmɑːˌɡreɪv /

noun

  1. a German nobleman ranking above a count. Margraves were originally counts appointed to govern frontier provinces, but all had become princes of the Holy Roman Empire by the 12th century

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • margravial adjective

Etymology

Origin of margrave

1545–55; earlier marcgrave < Middle Dutch, equivalent to marke border (cognate with march 2 ) + grave count (cognate with reeve 1 ); compare German Markgraf

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.