English homophones
marquess/marquis
"marquis" (#16,073 written frequency) beats "marquess" (#36,241) in this 2-word /ˈmɑː.kwɪs/ cluster. Size rank #133 of 1,007 English groups.
Data vintage
Frequency splits the cluster
These 2 spellings keep the same /ˈmɑː.kwɪs/ reading, but written frequency splits them hard: "marquis" leads at #16,073, with "marquess" trailing at #36,241.
Spelling pairs in this cluster
- Shared stem "marqu" then splits - "marquess" (8 letters) vs "marquis" (7).
Orthographic DNA of this cluster
Shared letters across marquess, marquis: amqrsu. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.
marquess
8 letters · 3 vowels · shape CVCCVVCC
Inventory aemqrsu · private e
marquis
7 letters · 3 vowels · shape CVCCVVC
Inventory aimqrsu · private i
Pick the spelling from the meaning
- Write "marquess" when you mean: A title of nobility for a man ranking beneath a duke and above an earl.
- Write "marquis" when you mean: A nobleman in England, France, and Germany, of a rank next below that of duke, but above a count. Originally, the marquis was an officer …
Known mistypes of these spellings
Edit-distance variants recorded against this cluster: useful when a search or OCR feed lands on the wrong form.
Each spelling
noun · /ˈmɑː.kwɪs/ · #36,241 frequency
A title of nobility for a man ranking beneath a duke and above an earl.
noun · /ˈmɑː.kwɪs/ · #16,073 frequency
A nobleman in England, France, and Germany, of a rank next below that of duke, but above a count. Originally, the marquis was an officer whose duty was to guard the marches or frontiers of the kingdom. The office has ceased, and the name is now a mere title conferred by letters patent or letters close.
Nearby English homophone groups
What to do next
You've reviewed the 2-spelling cluster (marquess, marquis). Here's where to go from here.
- "marquis" is the most frequent headword in this 2-spelling cluster (rank #16,073 in English). Full entry
- Among English homophone groups, a cluster of 2 spellings ranks #133 by size (1,007 groups in this vintage). Corpus statistics
- Explore a nearby 2-spelling cluster: Monterey · Monterrey. Nearby cluster
- Each spelling in "marquess, marquis" has its own headword page with definition, IPA, and misspelling variants. First entry
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.