viscount

Rank below earl

A viscount is a member of the European nobility ranking above a baron and below an earl or count.

The title originated as a deputy to a count and became hereditary in various European countries.

In British usage, a viscount's wife or a woman holding the title in her own right is called a viscountess.

The viscount inherited his father's estate and seat in the House of Lords.

address

lord

Nobleman or ruler

  • ladyCourteous term for woman
  • honorableHaving high moral standards
  • sirFormal male address

madam · lordship · ladyship · courtesy title · style · form of address · precedence · etiquette · protocol

rank

baron

Low-ranking peer

  • earlBritish hereditary noble rank
  • marquessNobleman below duke
  • dukeHighest-ranking nobleman

baronet · baronetcy · viscountcy · earldom · marquessate · duchy · peerage · nobility · aristocracy · gentry

heraldry

escutcheon

Shield bearing heraldry

coronet · motto · blazon · shield · lineage · ancestry · dynasty · heritage · pedigree · bloodline

British

House of Lords

Britain's senior parliamentary body

British Empire · Commonwealth · monarchy · royal · crown · coronet · shire · realm · sovereign · regency

feudal

vassal

Land-holding sworn subordinate

  • liegeFeudal superior or subject
  • fiefGranted feudal estate
  • fiefdomFeudal territory under lord

manor · serfdom · overlord · suzerain · homage · demesne · seigneur · castellan · bailiff · steward

Categories
Opposites
noble rank hierarchy

viscountking

Male crowned ruler

duke · emperor · monarch · prince · sovereign

social class

viscountpeasant

Low-status agricultural laborer

serf · commoner · pauper · plebeian · villein

Family

viscountess, viscounts, viscountesses

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Rated G