Margrave
WordNet
noun
(1) A German nobleman ranking above a count (corresponding in rank to a British marquess)
(2) The military governor of a frontier province in medieval Germany
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From marcgrāve (modern markgraaf), cognate with Old High German marcgrāvo (modern Markgraf), from the Germanic bases of mark 'march, border terrotory' + grave 'officer of comital rank'. Compare marchion, marquis, landgrave.
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.
- 1973: Among pulverised heads of stone margraves and electors, reconnoitering a likely-looking cabbage patch, all of a sudden Slothrop picks up the scent of an unmistakable no it can’t be yes it is it’s a REEFER! — Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
- A hereditary ruling prince in certain feudal states of the Holy Roman Empire and elsewhere; the titular equivalent became known as marquis or marquess.
- 1516: The Margrave of Bruges was their head. — Thomas More, Utopia, Chapter 1.