from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. A man holding a British hereditary title of honor reserved for commoners, ranking immediately below the barons and above all orders of knighthood except the Garter.
- n. Used as the title for such a man.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. A hereditary title, below a peerage and senior to most knighthoods, entitling the bearer to the titular prefix "Sir" (for men) or "Dame" (for women) which is used in conjunction with the holder's Christian name. It is inheritable, usually by the eldest son although a few baronetcies can also pass through the female line.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. A dignity or degree of honor next below a baron and above a knight, having precedency of all orders of knights except those of the Garter. It is the lowest degree of honor that is hereditary. The baronets are commoners.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A lesser or inferior baron.
- n. A British title of hereditary rank or degree of honor next below that of a baron, and thus not conferring a peerage; the only title of hereditary knighthood.
- To raise to the rank of baronet: generally in the passive: as, he expects to be baroneted.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. a member of the British order of honor; ranks below a baron but above a knight
There are also reasons for connecting the portrait with one of a certain English baronet named Sheffield, who was likewise in
LYNMERE, at tea-time, returned from his ride, with a fixed plan of frightening or disgusting the baronet from the alliance; with Eugenia, herself, he imagined the attempt would be vain, for he did not conceive it possible any woman who had eyes could be induced to reject him.
They tell me that his father was made what they call a baronet because he set a broken arm for one of those twenty royal dukes that England has to pay for. "
Twenty minutes later I’d heard a detailed, if rushed, explanation of everything from the meaning of writs patent to the coup enacted by Margaret Thatcher when she managed to secure the title of baronet for her husband, thus ensuring a hereditary aristocratic status for her descendants prime ministers are traditionally granted life peerages, which are not hereditary.
We had arranged no plan of campaign, but the baronet is a man to whom the most direct way is always the most natural.
The evening came to an end at last, but Kate had yet to be handed downstairs by the detested Sir Mulberry; and so skilfully were the manoeuvres of Messrs Pyke and Pluck conducted, that she and the baronet were the last of the party, and were even — without an appearance of effort or design — left at some little distance behind.
The baronet was a good deal disconcerted by his intimation, saying, that he must be a Goth and
“I have seen Sir Richard in a devil of a passion, but never with me — no, no! Trust Sir Richard for not riding the high horse with me — a baronet is a baronet, but a bard is a bard; and that Sir Richard knows.”
He puts the rudest remarks Sir Percival can make on his effeminate tastes and amusements quietly away from him in that manner — always calling the baronet by his
My own experience with them showed that the baronet is a frugal traveler.