Baronesse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The wife or surviving widow of a man holding the rank of baron ; a woman who holds a baronial rank or title in her own right
2. A woman married to or widowed from a baron ; a female noble who possesses baronial rank by her own status or inheritance
3. The female spouse of a baron or his heir ; a woman ennobled with baronial rank through her own standing or succession

Etymology: Before it named a noblewoman, the root of this term meant simply "man." The base is "baron," which came into Old French from Latin "baro," a word of uncertain origin that once meant a man, a servant, or a free fighting man, and in some Old French usage could mean a husband. The ending "-esse" is a feminine suffix that French took from Late Latin "-issa," itself borrowed from Greek. Put together, a "baronesse" was the wife or female holder of a baron's rank. English adopted the form in the Middle Ages, and it was the usual spelling for centuries before "baroness" became standard. The "-esse" ending was later dropped in English, as in "duchess" and "countess," which kept it. Today "baronesse" appears mainly in older texts and deliberate archaism.

Synonyms: baroness