baron

¹ American  

[bar-uhn] / ˈbær ən /

noun

1. a member of the lowest grade of nobility.

2. (in Britain)

   1. a feudal vassal holding his lands under a direct grant from the king.

   2. a direct descendant of such a vassal or his equal in the nobility.

   3. a member of the House of Lords.

3. an important financier or industrialist, especially one with great power in a particular area.

   an oil baron.

4. a cut of mutton or lamb comprising the two loins, or saddle, and the hind legs.

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Baron ² American  

[ba-rawn] / baˈrɔ̃ /

noun

1. Michel Michel Boyron, 1653–1729, French actor.

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baron British  

/ ˈbærən /

noun

1. a member of a specific rank of nobility, esp the lowest rank in the British Isles

2. (in Europe from the Middle Ages) originally any tenant-in-chief of a king or other overlord, who held land from his superior by honourable service; a land-holding nobleman

3. a powerful businessman or financier

   a press baron

4. English law (formerly) the title held by judges of the Court of Exchequer

5. short for baron of beef

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Etymology

Origin of baron

1200–50; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Late Latin barōn- (stemof barō ) man < Germanic; sense “cut of beef ” perhaps by analogy with the fanciful analysis of sirloin as “Sir Loin”

Example Sentences

“Ease” survived, but Abbe soon sold the work to railroad baron Collis Potter Huntington to help relieve his financial difficulties.

From The Wall Street Journal

Wearing a crisply ironed button-down shirt, sunglasses, baseball cap and boat shoes, the 89-year-old looked every bit a kind boat baron.

From Los Angeles Times

Harry accuses the press barons of creating a "stalemate society, where they can enrage the public over the most mundane and petty things, to distract from the critical issues for our country and communities".

From BBC

The Washington Post once described him as “arguably the last great committee-chairman power baron to walk the halls of Congress.”

From Washington Post

Boswell, an agricultural company founded by the famous land baron of the same name.

From Salon

Related Words

• aristocrat