Marques

Marques is the plural form of marque, a term used in English to denote a brand or distinctive line of products associated with a company. In marketing and consumer culture, a marque refers to the identity that a company projects to differentiate its goods from those of competitors. The concept is widely used in the automotive and luxury sectors, where a car maker's marque denotes not just a model range but a reputational bundle of design language, engineering standards, and heritage. For example, the Jaguar marque signals a particular tradition of performance and styling within the Jaguar Land Rover group.

Etymology: Marque comes from Old French marque meaning mark, sign, or brand, from Latin marca. In English, the plural is formed with -es.

Usage: The term is often used to emphasize heritage or a defined product family within a corporate portfolio. It is sometimes preferred over "brand" in discussions about history, positioning, or strategy of a company’s product lines. In everyday language, “brand” is more common, while “marque” can convey a sense of prestige or tradition. In legal history, “letters of marque” were licenses authorizing privateering; though related etymologically, that sense is distinct from contemporary business usage, and modern English rarely uses marque in that context except in historical writing.

See also: Brand, Brand management, Car marque.