Baron

How to spell baron

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce baron

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does baron mean?

1. nounA nobleman holding the lowest rank of the hereditary peerage.
2. nounA person who holds great power or influence in a particular industry.

Baron in a sentence

• The baron inherited the estate and its title from his father.

• The oil baron controlled most of the refineries along the coast.

• Each baron was summoned to swear loyalty to the new king.

• As a media baron, she owned three newspapers and a television network.

Where does baron come from?

Language of origin: French

This word arrived in English from Old French baron, the object form of ber, which meant 'man', 'freeman', or 'warrior'. The French term in turn descends from the Late Latin baro, recorded with the sense of 'man' or 'servant', and many scholars believe that Latin word was itself borrowed from a Germanic source meaning something like 'fighting man'. After the Norman Conquest of 1066 the title spread through England to name a man who held land directly from the king, and it later settled as the lowest rank of the hereditary peerage. From the seventeenth century onward English speakers stretched it figuratively to a person of great commercial power, giving us phrases like 'oil baron' and 'press baron'. Because the word sounds exactly like 'barren' (meaning empty or infertile), the single 'r' and the '-on' ending are the spelling features worth fixing in memory.

How the word is built

• baron (whole word, from Old French baron, oblique form of ber: man, freeman, warrior)

Words that sound like baron

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• barren: Unable to produce crops, vegetation, or offspring; bleak and empty.