margrave means A surname. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 84 out of 100.
margrave is pronounced /ˈmɑːɡɹeɪv/.
Why “margrave” is a great word
MARGRAVE — [Noun] A hereditary nobleman originally governing a border province (a march) in the Holy Roman Empire and other European states, a title later equivalent to marquis. From Middle Dutch marcgrāve (modern Dutch markgraaf), from Proto-Germanic *markō (“boundary, borderland”) + *grafa (“count, official”), the latter from Latin graphio (“steward”). Unlike a marquis, whose prestige is woven from courtly silk, or a count, whose rule is measured in settled harvests, the margrave was forged by the pressure of the frontier. He was the scent of pine from a dark forest border, the architect of a fortress on the wooded ridge, the administrator of a land defined only by what lay beyond it—a title born not of placid inheritance, but of the taut line where civilization frays.
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.
noun
- A feudal era military-administrative officer of comital rank in the Carolingian empire and some successor states, originally in charge of a border area.“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”
- A hereditary ruling prince in certain feudal states of the Holy Roman Empire and elsewhere; the titular equivalent became known as marquis or marquess.“The Margrave of Bruges was their head.”