Marquis or Marquess?

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ccarver30

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I have looked them both up at dictionary.com and they are synonyms; however, it seems that Marquess is more "british". My novel is set in 19th century London, England- does it matter which one I use?
 

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I believe Marquess is used for British nobles and Marquis for foreign, but not absolutely certain. Anybody have a copy of Burke´s peerage?
 

Bo Sullivan

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I would use marquis or marquess both are correct according to Fowlers Concise English Dictionary - nouns. Noble ranking between duke and earl or in foreign countries count.

I am in UK and I prefer marquis.

Barbara
 

ccarver30

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Looks like this might answer my question. Thanks for your help!

A Marquess (British English spelling) or Marquis (North American English and the original French spelling) is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European monarchies and some of their colonies. The term is also used to render equivalent oriental styles as in imperial China and Japan. In the British peerage it ranks below a Duke and above an Earl, on the continent usually equivalent where a cognate title exists. A woman with the rank of Marquess, or the wife of a Marquess, is a Marchioness, (IPA pronunciation: [ˌmɑ(r)ʃə'nɛs]) or Marquise (North American English and the original French spelling).


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquess
 

Bo Sullivan

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I have looked them both up at dictionary.com and they are synonyms; however, it seems that Marquess is more "british". My novel is set in 19th century London, England- does it matter which one I use?

I am just curious to know which of the two your chose for your book? I used to go to a pub called the Marquis of Granby and that was in a little village in England in the late 1960s. May be they couldn't fit the longer spelling on to the sign outside the pub!

Barbara
 

Anne Lyle

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I am just curious to know which of the two your chose for your book? I used to go to a pub called the Marquis of Granby and that was in a little village in England in the late 1960s. May be they couldn't fit the longer spelling on to the sign outside the pub!

Barbara

The official title of the peer is "Marquess of Granby", but the form with 'i' seems to be standard on the many pub signs bearing the name. However they're named after an 18th-century marquess (he was a general and reputedly sponsored his disabled veterans so they could set themselves up as publicans), so maybe that's how it was spelt then and it just stuck.
 

ccarver30

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I am just curious to know which of the two your chose for your book? I used to go to a pub called the Marquis of Granby and that was in a little village in England in the late 1960s. May be they couldn't fit the longer spelling on to the sign outside the pub!

Barbara

I chose marquess since my character is English.

The sign could be referencing a non-English marquess..? :)
 
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Marquis seems French to me and would be pronounced Markee, as in the Marquis de Sade.

Marquess looks more British and would be pronounced Markwiss.
 

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Yes, Marquess is the correct choice for a British person of that title, whereas Marquis is French. The most famous example of a British Marquess would be the 8th Marquess of Queensberry who was responsible for establishing a code of rules for the sport of boxing, and also the father of Lord Alfred Douglas and instigator of the infamous Oscar Wilde trials of 1895.
 

job

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My understanding is that 'marquess' has been more common in England, while 'marquis' was more common in Scotland.

Talking your period of interest ...

Up until 1802, and sometimes later on, Debrett used 'marquis' for that rank. By midcentury -- say before 1840 -- the changeover had been made to marquess.

So ISTM you can use 'marquis' in England in early century with no problem. In Scotland clean through.
And you can use 'marquess' in England anytime after the first decade of so of C19.
 
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