Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a nobleman next below an earl or count and next above a baron.
- History/Historical. a deputy of a count or earl.
- (in England) a sheriff.
noun
- (in the British Isles) a nobleman ranking below an earl and above a baron
- (in various countries) a son or younger brother of a countSee also vicomte
- (in medieval Europe) the deputy of a count
late 14c., “deputy of a count or earl,” from Anglo-French and Old French visconte, from Medieval Latin vicecomes (genitive vicecomitis), from Late Latin vice- “deputy” (see vice-) + Latin comes “member of an imperial court, nobleman” (see count (n.)). As a rank in British peerage, first recorded 1440, when John, Baron Beaumont, was made one by Henry VI.