Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Baron
Bar′on
,Noun.
[OE.
baron
, barun
, OF. baron
, accus. of ber
, F. baron
, prob. fr. OHG. baro
(not found) bearer, akin to E. bear
to support; cf. O. Frisian bere
, LL. baro
, It. barone
, Sp. varon
. From the meaning bearer
(of burdens) seem to have come the senses strong man
, man
(in distinction from woman), which is the oldest meaning in French, and lastly, nobleman
. Cf. L. baro
, simpleton. See Bear
to support.] 1.
A title or degree of nobility; originally, the possessor of a fief, who had feudal tenants under him; in modern times, in France and Germany, a nobleman next in rank below a count; in England, a nobleman of the lowest grade in the House of Lords, being next below a viscount.
☞ “The tenants in chief from the Crown, who held lands of the annual value of four hundred pounds, were styled
Barons
; and it is to them, and not to the members of the lowest grade of the nobility (to whom the title at the present time belongs), that reference is made when we read of the Barons of the early days of England’s history. . . . Barons are addressed as ‘My Lord,' and are styled ‘Right Honorable.' All their sons and daughters are ‘Honorable.'” Cussans.
2.
(Old Law)
A husband;
as,
. baron
and feme
, husband and wife[R.]
Cowell.
Baron of beef
, two sirloins not cut asunder at the backbone.
– Barons of the Cinque Ports
, formerly members of the House of Commons, elected by the seven Cinque Ports, two for each port.
– Barons of the exchequer
, the judges of the Court of Exchequer, one of the three ancient courts of England, now abolished.
Webster 1828 Edition
Baron
BAR'ON
,Noun.
1.
In Great Britain, a title or degree of nobility; a lord; a peer; one who holds the rank of nobility next below that of a viscount, and above that of a knight or baronet. Originally, the barons, being the feudatories of princes, were the proprietors of land held by honorable service. Hence, in ancient records, the word barons comprehends all the nobility. All such in England had, in early times, a right to sit in parliament. As a baron was the proprietor of a manor, and each manor had its court-baron; hence the barons claimed, and to this day enjoy, the right of judging in the last resort; a right pertaining to the house of lords, or peers, as the representatives of the ancient barons, land-holders, manor-holders. Anciently, barons were greater, or such as held their lands of the king in capite; or lesser, such as held their lands of the greater barons by military service in capite.
The title of baron is no longer attached to the possession of a manor, but given by the king's letters patent, or writ of summons to parliament; that is, the dignity is personal, and not territorial.
The radical word,vir,fir,a man, is Celtic, as well as Teutonic; but the word baron was not known in the British isles, till introduced from the continent under the Norman princes.
2.
Baron is a title of certain officers, as barons of the exchequer, who are the four judges who try cases between the king and his subjects, relating to the revenue. Barons of the Cinque Ports are members of the House of Commons, elected by the seven Cinque Ports, two for each port. These ports are Dover, Sandwich, Rommey, Hastings, Hythe, Winchelsea, and Rye.3.
In law, a husband; as baron and feme, husband and wife.