boyard

Variant of boyar

noun

  1. a member of the privileged aristocracy in czarist Russia, ranking just below the ruling princes: the rank was abolished by Peter I
  2. a member of the privileged aristocracy in Romania

Origin: Russ boyarin, pl. boyare, grandee < boj, battle < IE base *bhei-, to strike

Also boyard
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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