different between marchioness vs countess

English

Alternative forms

• (marquess): marquise

Etymology

From Medieval Latin marchionissa, feminine form of marchion, from Late Latin marcha, from Frankish *mark?n (“to mark, mark out, to press with the foot”), from Proto-Germanic *mark? (“area, region, edge, rim, border”)

(maid-of-all-work): After a character in Charles Dickens' novel The Old Curiosity Shop.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m????n?s/, /m?????n?s/

Noun

marchioness (plural marchionesses)

1. The wife of a marquess.
2. A woman holding the rank of marquess in her own right.
3. (slang, obsolete) An old-fashioned maid-of-all-work (female servant).
   • 1896, The Chautauquan (volume 22, page 382)

     The beauty and charm of the little marchioness and the tender hearted old colored man, with their mutual affection, forcibly remind the reader of "Uncle Tom" and "Eva."

Synonyms

• marquise

Translations

References

• 1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary

Anagrams

• monarchises

English

Alternative forms

• Countess

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman cuntesse, Old French contesse, from Latin comitessa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ka?nt?s/

Noun

countess (plural countesses)

1. The wife of a count or earl.
2. A woman holding the rank of count or earl in her own right; a female holder of an earldom.

Synonyms

• contessa (often specifically Italian)
• (the wife of an earl, a female holder of an earldom): earless (nonstandard)

Translations

Anagrams

• Scoutens, contuses