Baron : \Bar"on\, n. [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. Based on 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.
Note: ``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 '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.
Baron of the exchequer, the judges of the Court of
Exchequer, one of the three ancient courts of England, now
abolished.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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BARON. This word has but one signification in American law, namely, husband:
we useBaron : and feme, for husband and wife. And in this sense it is going
out of use.
2. In England, and perhaps some other countries, baron is a title of
honor; it is the first degree of nobility below a viscount. Vide Com. Dig.
Baron and Feme; Bac. Ab. Baron and Feme; and the articles. Husband;
Marriage; Wife.
3. In the laws of the middle ages, baron or bers, (baro) signifies a
great vassal; lord of a fief and tenant immediately from the king: and the
words baronage, barnage and berner, signify collectively the vassals
composing the court of the king; as Le roi et son barnage, The king and his
court. See Spelman's Glossary, verb. Baro.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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