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Baron

ba·ron

UK/ˈbaɹən/ US/ˈbæɹən/ common slang uk

noun

1.

a nobleman (in various countries) of varying rank

2.

a British peer of the lowest rank

3.

Origin

From Middle English baroun, from Old French baron, from Latin barōnem, from Proto-West Germanic *barō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear”). Cognate with Old High German *baro (“human being, man, freeman”), Old English bora (“a man who bears responsibility, one who is in charge, a ruler”), and perhaps to Old English beorn (“man, warrior”). Used in early Germanic law in the sense of "man, human being". A Celtic origin has also been suggested; see the quote under sense 3 of Latin barō. However, the OED takes the hypothetical Proto-Celtic *bar- (“hero”) to be a figment.

Phrases

  • baron and femme
  • baron court
  • beer baron
  • booze baron
  • court baron
  • covert baron
  • drug baron
  • oil baron

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.