Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The lord or military governor of a medieval German border province.
  • noun Used as a hereditary title for certain princes in the Holy Roman Empire.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A German title (markgraf), ‘count or earl of a mark’ or border province: equivalent to marquis.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Originally, a lord or keeper of the borders or marches in Germany.
  • noun The English equivalent of the German title of nobility, markgraf; a marquis.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A feudal era military-administrative officer of comital rank in the Carolingian empire and some successor states, originally in charge of a border area.
  • noun A hereditary ruling prince in certain feudal states of the Holy Roman Empire and elsewhere; the titular equivalent became known as marquis or marquess.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a German nobleman ranking above a count (corresponding in rank to a British marquess)
  • noun the military governor of a frontier province in medieval Germany

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably Middle Dutch marcgrāve : marc, march, border; see merg- in Indo-European roots + grāve, count (perhaps ultimately from Greek grapheus, scribe; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle Dutch marcgrāve (modern Dutch markgraaf), cognate with Old High German marcgrāvo (modern German Markgraf), from the Germanic bases of mark ("march, border territory") + grave ("officer of comital rank"). Compare marchion, marquis, landgrave.

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Examples

  • One of his sons, Henry, called margrave and duke in Franconia, fell fighting against the Normans in 886; another, Poppo, was margrave in Thuringia from 880 to

    Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1 "Austria, Lower" to "Bacon" Various

  • From this time the Babenbergs lost their influence in Franconia; but in 976 Leopold, a member of the family who was a count in the Donnegau, is described as margrave of the East Mark, a district not more than 60 m. in breadth on the eastern frontier of Bavaria which grew into the duchy of

    Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1 "Austria, Lower" to "Bacon" Various

  • Charlemagne had established a strong body of troops under a commander who was called a margrave; and for some centuries this city, commanding the Danube, had been deemed one of the strongest defenses of the empire against Mohammedan invasion.

    The Empire of Austria; Its Rise and Present Power 1841

  • The most common term, however, is "margrave", which is an anglicization of the German word markgraf.

    Salem-News.com 2010

  • These are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721 (though probably composed earlier).

    Why it's healthier to sit down to family meals together with classical music in the background 2009

  • The dangerous frontier counties, or marches, had special governors- graf, margrave, or markherzog; Roland of Roncesvalles, for example, was governor of the Breton march.

    Charlemagne, King of the Franks, 28 Jan 814 de Brantigny........................ 2009

  • The dangerous frontier counties, or marches, had special governors- graf, margrave, or markherzog; Roland of Roncesvalles, for example, was governor of the Breton march.

    Archive 2008-01-20 de Brantigny........................ 2008

  • The dangerous frontier counties, or marches, had special governors- graf, margrave, or markherzog; Roland of Roncesvalles, for example, was governor of the Breton march.

    Charlemagne, King of the Franks, 28 Jan 814 de Brantigny........................ 2008

  • Then Spake the margrave: “Ye noble and mighty kings, when ye now ride again (that is the custom) home to Burgundy, I will give you my child, that ye may take her with you.”

    The Nibelungenlied 2007

  • When they saw the margrave borne forth dead, no scribe might write or tell the frantic grief of men and women, which there gan show itself from dole of heart.

    The Nibelungenlied 2007

Comments

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  • from Middlemarch

    October 1, 2007