Baro

A man, whether slave or free. Si quis homicidium perpetraverit in barone libero seu servo, if any one shall have perpetrated a murder upon any man, slave or free. A freeman or freedman; a strong man; a hired soldier; a vassal; a feudal client. Those who held of the king immediately were called barons of the king. A man of dignity and rank; a knight. A magnate in the church. A judge in the exchequer (baro scaccarii). The first-born child. A husband. The word is said by Spelman to have been used more frequently in its latter sense; Spelman, Gloss. It is quite easy to trace the history of baro, from meaning simply man, to its various derived significations. Denoting a man, one who possessed the manly qualities of courage and strength would be desirable as a soldier, or might misuse them as a robber. One who possessed them in an eminent degree would be the man; and hence baro, in its sense of a title of dignity or honor, particularly applicable in a warlike age to the best soldier. See, generally, Bacon, Abr.; Comyns, Dig.; Spelman, Gloss. Baro.