marquee
(mɑːˈkiː)
Also 8 marquée, marki, 8–9 markee.
[An assumed sing. f. marquise apprehended as pl.]
A large tent, as an officer's field-tent, or one used at a public entertainment, exhibition, or the like.
| 1690 Lond. Gaz. No. 2542/4 A good Marquee, two French Tents. 1758 Lond. Chron. 19–22 Aug. 173/3 General Abercrombie would not suffer any of the officers to carry any chests, beds, or markees, with them. 1744 M. Mackenzie Maritime Surv. 106 A Captain's Tent and Marki. 1812 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 99 The..band was stationed in a marquee on the lawn. 1831 E. J. Trelawny Adv. Younger Son II. 118 A summer-room, exactly of the form and colour of a markee. 1884 Times (weekly ed.) 7 Nov. 3/2 The meeting was held in a marquee erected behind the Fountain Hotel. |
b. attrib., as in marquee manufacture, marquee tent; marquee coop U.S., a tent-shaped hen-coop.
| 1775 Connect. Col. Rec. (1890) XV. 15 Ninety marquee or officers tents. 1834 Tait's Mag. I. 218/2 Benjamin Edgington, Marquee and Tent Manufacturer. 1849 D. J. Browne Amer. Poultry Yd. (1855) 122 The marquee coop. |
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Senses a, b in Dict. become 1, 3. Add: 2. orig. and chiefly U.S. a. A canopy projecting over the main entrance to a building, spec. one at a theatre, cinema, etc., on which details of the entertainment or performers are featured. (Orig. in circus use). b. transf. and fig. The roster of performers, etc., so displayed; the billing.
| [1926 Amer. Speech I. 283/2 Marquee, the front door or main entrance of the big top.] 1931 Amer. Mercury Nov. 353/1 Marquee, the canopy at the main entrance [of a circus]. 1933 Billboard 8 July 24/1 The marquee of the Rivoli, where Samarang is playing, reads: ‘One of the most exciting films ever shown’. 1938 D. Baker Young Man with Horn (1978) 84 There was a small marquee extending out over some steps,..and there was a door man, a bright-looking negro boy in a red bell-hop's uniform. 1967 Boston Globe 5 Apr. 56/5 British actors mean little on an American movie marquee and Sherlock Holmes always seems old-fashioned. 1977 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 19 Dec. 3/4 The Capitol Theatre remains..unaltered, apart from a new marquee some years ago. 1979 Washington Post 14 Jan. c4/2 With him in the NBA, Philadelphia became the league's biggest road draw and now, three years later, his name tops the arena marquees. 1981 L. R. Banks Writing on Wall v. 40 It was a big, tall building with lots of fancy-work on the front, and a marquee like a cinema. 1991 R. Bergan Dustin Hoffman xii. 73 Every time Dustin saw his name in block letters on the marquee of a movie house, he was assailed with thoughts of his own mortality. 1993 Daily Tel. 15 July 21/3 At the Hubbard Dianetics Foundation there's an electric marquee that goes through this routine: Low Self Esteem? Failed Marriage? Tired Of Losing? Relationship Difficulties? Come In Now! |
c. attrib. or as adj. Chiefly Entertainment and Sport. (Of a name, etc.) appearing or fit to appear on a marquee; so, headlining, starring; leading, pre-eminent. In Comb. as marquee name, marquee player, marquee star, etc; marquee value, the ability to attract a large audience, pulling power.
| 1978 Washington Post 2 Apr. k6/1 It's very difficult to run a jazz club successfully unless you have a great many marquee names,..and these marquee names cost too much now. 1980 N.Y. Times 16 June c6/3 He has marquee-value looks, a gentle, friendly face. He is personable, friendly, attractive, witty, a family man. 1984 Christian Science Monitor 27 Mar. 20/2 Whenever Jack Nicklaus, whose name still has enormous marquee value, plays a major tournament.., ratings reportedly go up 3 percent. 1986 Los Angeles Times Mag. 30 Nov. 28/3 A major factor in the rise of the league has been an influx of marquee players. 1990 Independent 17 May 15/2 ‘Surprisingly restrained’ might be the most appropriate marquee quote to describe it, even if this appears to damn the film with faint praise. 1990 J. Park Brit. Cinema ii. 34 [British film-makers] judged it worthwhile incurring the expense of bringing over American stars..in order to increase their films' marquee value at home and abroad. 1992 Syracuse Herald-American 13 Dec. g5/3 Fans called for the Oilers to ink a long-term deal with a marquee player. 1994 Post (Denver) 16 Jan. a13/1 The case capped her rise to prominence as..one of the few women in the nation to attain marquee status in criminal law. |