frank·lin
(frăng′klĭn)n. A medieval English freeholder of nonnoble birth holding extensive property.
[Middle English frankelein, from Anglo-Norman fraunclein, from Anglo-Norman franc; see frank1.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
franklin
(ˈfræŋklɪn) n (Historical Terms) (in 14th- and 15th-century England) a substantial landholder of free but not noble birth
[C13: from Anglo-French fraunclein, from Old French franc free, on the model of chamberlain]
Franklin
(ˈfræŋklɪn) n1. (Biography) Aretha (əˈriːθə) born 1942, US soul, pop, and gospel singer; noted for her songs "Respect" (1967), "I Say a Little Prayer" (1968), and, with George Michael, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (1987)
2. (Biography) Sir John. 1786–1847, English explorer of the Arctic: lieutenant-governor of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) (1836–43): died while on a voyage to discover the Northwest Passage
3. (Biography) Rosalind. 1920–58, British x-ray crystallographer. She contributed to the discovery of the structure of DNA, before her premature death from cancer
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
frank•lin
(ˈfræŋk lɪn)
n. (in England in the 14th and 15th centuries) a freeholder who was not of noble birth.
[1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French]
Frank•lin
(ˈfræŋk lɪn)
n. 1. Benjamin, 1706–90, American statesman and inventor.
2. Sir John, 1786–1847, British Arctic explorer.
3. a district in extreme N Canada, in the Northwest Territories, including the Boothia and Melville peninsulas, Baffin Island, and other Arctic islands. 549,253 sq. mi. (1,422,565 sq. km).
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Franklin
An automobile that used an air-cooled engine and was made in Syracuse, NY from 1901–1934.
1001 Words and Phrases You Never Knew You Didn’t Know by W.R. Runyan Copyright © 2011 by W.R. Runyan