Marquis

A marquess (UK: ; French: marquis [maʁki]) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave) and the Italian-language equivalent Marchese. A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) of a marquess is a marchioness () or marquise (French: [maʁkiz] ). These titles are also used to translate equivalent Asian styles, as in Imperial China and Imperial Japan.