1425: baron Nov 5, 2018

Over time, the meaning of words often reverses. These contranyms like 'liberal' and 'peruse' often goes unnoticed. 'Baron' is another of these terms. It originally referred to a type of lord in British nobility, but the term referred to the lowest order. Now, it doesn't refer to land-owning nobility, but instead a very important person in business. Not only has the connotation moved away from nobility, but a baron nowadays is by no means thought of as the lowest order in business, and is usually assigned to quite successful, influential people.