The Etymology of Marquee
Marquee is one of English's great misunderstandings. In 17th-century French, a marquise (the feminine of marquis) was used metaphorically for a high-ranking officer's field tent, possibly because such a tent stood proudly above all others as a marquise stood above a marchioness. When English borrowed the word in 1684, speakers heard the final -s, assumed it must be a plural marker, and dutifully back-formed a singular marquee. The mistake stuck. By the 19th century marquee was the standard English word for a large grand tent at garden parties, weddings, and circuses. American English added a new sense in the early 20th century: the projecting roof or sign over a theatre entrance, often with light bulbs spelling out names of films or stars — a marquee in this sense is a tent-like overhang. The phrase marquee name (a star big enough to put on the sign) followed naturally.