marchioness

Etymology

From Medieval Latin marchionissa, feminine form of marchion, from Late Latin marcha, from Frankish *markōn (“to mark, mark out, to press with the foot”), from Proto-Germanic *markō (“area, region, edge, rim, border”). (maid-of-all-work): After a character in Charles Dickens' novel The Old Curiosity Shop.

noun

1. The wife of a marquess.
   The first train over the bridge was driven by the Marchioness of Tweeddale, and the engine was No. 602 of the North British Railway Company. 1941 January, the late John Phillimore, “The Forth Bridge 1890-1940”, in Railway Magazine, page 5
2. A woman holding the rank of marquess in her own right.
3. (slang, obsolete) An old-fashioned maid-of-all-work; female servant.
   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." 1896, The Chautauquan, volume 22, page 382