margrave

Meaning

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.
• A hereditary ruling prince in certain feudal states of the Holy Roman Empire and elsewhere; the titular equivalent became known as marquis or marquess.

Origin

• From Middle Dutch marcgrave (modern Dutch markgraaf), cognate with Old High German marcgrāvo (modern German Markgraf), from Proto-Germanic *markō ("boundary; boundary marker") + *grafa, from Latin graphio.
• Compare marchion, marquis, landgrave.