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baronet

[bar-uh-nit, bar-uh-net]
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noun

a member of a British hereditary order of honor, ranking below the barons and made up of commoners, designated by Sir before the name and Baronet, usually abbreviated Bart., after: Sir John Smith, Bart.

Origin of baronet

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at baron, -et
Related formsbar·o·net·i·cal, adjective
Can be confusedbarren baron baronet
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for baronet

aristocrat, patrician, emperor, count, noble, baron, gentleman, valet, knight, peer, lord, prince, marquis, duke, earl, archduke, magnifico, grandee, viscount

Examples from the Web for baronet

Contemporary Examples of baronet

  • It is the prerogative of a viscount or a baron to make a person feel small, and of a baronet to extinguish him.

    The Daily Beast logo
    Twain's Conversations with Satan

    Mark Twain

    April 26, 2009

Historical Examples of baronet

  • But, my good madam, we must make the best of it—let the girl marry her baronet.

  • On the tide of applause which congratulated the boat's only baronet, I rose.

    It Happened in Egypt

    C. N. Williamson

  • Lady Augusta intimated stiffly that she had not the honour of the baronet's acquaintance.

    The Channings

    Mrs. Henry Wood

  • Not a baron or an earl, and only one baronet, hath taken up arms for me.

    Micah Clarke

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • You know I'm only the daughter of a country gentleman and the widow of a baronet.

    Cleo The Magnificent

    Louis Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for baronet

baronet

noun

(in Britain) a commoner who holds the lowest hereditary title of honour, ranking below a baronAbbreviation: Bart., Bt

Word Origin for baronet

C15: order instituted 1611, from baron + -et
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for baronet
n.

c.1400, diminutive of baron; originally a younger or lesser baron; as a titled hereditary order, established 1611.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper