baron

Etymology

From Middle English baroun, from Old French baron, Medieval Latin barō, from Frankish *barō (“servant, man, warrior”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *barô (“carrier, bearer”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear”). Cognate with Old High German baro (“human being, man, freeman”), 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, due to the occurrence of a Latin barones (“military official”) as early as the first century (Cornutus, On Persius' Fifth Satire). However, the OED takes this hypothetical Proto-Celtic *bar- (“hero”) to be a figment.

noun

1. The male ruler of a barony.
2. A male member of the lowest rank of English nobility (the equivalent rank in Scotland is lord).
3. (by extension) A person of great power in society, especially in business and politics.
   There were a few exotics among them — some South American boys, sons of Argentine beef barons, one or two Russians, and even a Siamese prince, or someone who was described as a prince. c. 1948, George Orwell, Such, Such Were the Joys
   British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far. 2013-08-10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848
4. (UK, prison slang) A prisoner who gains power and influence by lending or selling goods such as tobacco.
   The first thing a baron does is to accumulate a supply of tobacco. He spends every penny he can earn on laying it in […] 1960, Hugh J. Klare, Anatomy of Prison, page 33
   Nevertheless, from my own agonies of the first few months, after which I did not miss smoking at all, I could appreciate the need of others. It was in this atmosphere of craving that the 'barons' thrived. Barons are prisoners who lend tobacco. 1961, Peter Baker, Time out of life, page 51
   In British prisons tobacco still remains the gold standard which is made to back every transaction and promise. The official allowance is barely sufficient for individual smoking needs, but tobacco may expensively be borrowed or bought from a baron, possibly through his runner. 1980, Leonard Michaels, Christopher Ricks, The State of the Language, page 525
5. A baron of beef, a cut made up of a double sirloin.
6. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Euthalia.
7. (law, obsolete) A husband.
   Coordinate term: wife
   baron and feme ― husband and wife