margrave

/ˈmɑːɡɹeɪv/

//ˈmɑːɡɹeɪv// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"margrave" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“margrave” is uncommon English (frequency #88,582 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#88,582
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A feudal era military-administrative officer of comital rank in the Carolingian empire and some successor states, originally in charge of a border area.

Corpus desk

Index EN-margrave · margrave · English

margrave · rank #88,582 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #88,582
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH marginalia

Nearest frequency peer: marginalia (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “margrave”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “margrave” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for margrave
PropertyValue
Headwordmargrave
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɑːɡɹeɪv/
Letters8
Frequency rank#88,582
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “margrave” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).margravefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “marginalia” (#88,581), “Maries” (#88,583), “Marah” (#88,579). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “margrave” is #88,582. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

margrave is uncommon English at frequency #88,582 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmɑːɡɹeɪv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for margrave in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle Dutch marcgrāve (modern Dutch markgraaf), cognate with Old High German marcgrāvo (modern German Markgraf), from Proto-Germanic *markō (“boundary; boundary marker”) + *grafa (“military rank”), from Latin graphio. More at mark, graft. Compare marc… The correct English form is margrave, spelled M-A-R-G-R-A-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A feudal era military-administrative officer of comital rank in the Carolingian empire and some successor states, originally in charge of a border area.
  2. 2
    A hereditary ruling prince in certain feudal states of the Holy Roman Empire and elsewhere; the titular equivalent became known as marquis or marquess.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how margrave appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 1973: Among pulverised heads of stone margraves and electors, reconnoitering a likely-looking cabbage patch, all of a sudden Slothrop picks up the scent of an unmistakable no it can’t be yes it is it’s a REEFER! — Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
  2. The Margrave of Bruges was their head.

Etymology

From Middle Dutch marcgrāve (modern Dutch markgraaf), cognate with Old High German marcgrāvo (modern German Markgraf), from Proto-Germanic *markō (“boundary; boundary marker”) + *grafa (“military rank”), from Latin graphio. More at mark, graft. Compare marchion, marquis, landgrave.

This word in other languages

margrave(Français)Markgraf(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "margrave"?
"margrave" is spelled M-A-R-G-R-A-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɑːɡɹeɪv/.
What does "margrave" mean?
As a noun, "margrave" means: A feudal era military-administrative officer of comital rank in the Carolingian empire and some successor states, originally in charge of a border area.
How do you pronounce "margrave"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "margrave" is /ˈmɑːɡɹeɪv/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "margrave"?
From Middle Dutch marcgrāve (modern Dutch markgraaf), cognate with Old High German marcgrāvo (modern German Markgraf), from Proto-Germanic *markō (“boundary; boundary marker”) + *grafa (“military rank”), from Latin graphio. More at mark, graft. Co... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "margrave", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

McElwain#88,594Maillard#88,569mindfuck#88,614mixology#88,620

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list