Word.ws English Dictionary

franklin

/ˈfɹæŋk.lɪn/

franklin noun: a freeholder, especially as belonging to a class of landowners in the 14th and 15th century ranking at the bottom of the gentry.

Noun (1)

franklin (plural franklins)

  1. (historical) A freeholder, especially as belonging to a class of landowners in the 14th and 15th century ranking at the bottom of the gentry.
    • Orlando Boop insisted on crowding in higher up between a franklin and a jongleur[.]1936, Norman Lindsay, The Flyaway Highway, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 81

Proper noun capitalized: Franklin

IPA/ˈfɹæŋklɪn/

Franklin (countable and uncountable, plural Franklins)

  1. A surname transferred from the nickname.
    1. Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), American author, scientist, inventor, and diplomat, and one of the Founding Fathers.
  2. A male given name transferred from the surname, partly in honor of Benjamin Franklin.
  3. A rural municipality of Manitoba, Canada.
  4. A municipality of Quebec, Canada.
  5. A town and river in Tasmania.
  6. (historical) An unrecognized proposed state in modern eastern Tennessee, United States. Capital: Greeneville.
  7. A town in Macon County, Alabama.
  8. An unincorporated community in Monroe County, Alabama.
  9. A town in Izard County, Arkansas.
  10. A census-designated place in Merced County, California.
  11. A census-designated place in Sacramento County, California.
  12. A town in New London County, Connecticut.
Show 37 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. A minor city, the county seat of Heard County, Georgia.
  2. A city in Franklin County, Idaho.
  3. A village in Morgan County, Illinois.
  4. A city, the county seat of Johnson County, Indiana.
  5. An unincorporated community in Dalton Township, Wayne County, Indiana.
  6. A minor city in Lee County, Iowa.
  7. A census-designated place in Crawford County, Kansas.
  8. A ghost town in Douglas County, Kansas
  9. A city, the county seat of Simpson County, Kentucky.
  10. A city, the parish seat of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.
  11. A town in Hancock County, Maine.
  12. A town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts.
  13. A village in Southfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan.
  14. A minor city in Renville County, Minnesota.
  15. A minor city in Howard County, Missouri.
  16. A minor city, the county seat of Franklin County, Nebraska.
  17. A city in Merrimack County, New Hampshire.
  18. A borough in Sussex County, New Jersey.
  19. A town in Franklin County, New York.
  20. A town and village in Delaware County, New York.
  21. A town, the county seat of Macon County, North Carolina.
  22. A city in Warren County, Ohio.
  23. A city, the county seat of Venango County, Pennsylvania.
  24. A borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania.
  25. A city, the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee.
  26. A city, the county seat of Robertson County, Texas.
  27. A town in Franklin County, Vermont.
  28. An independent city in Hampton Roads, Virginia.
  29. A town, the county seat of Pendleton County, West Virginia.
  30. A city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin; a suburb of Milwaukee.
  31. A town and unincorporated community in Jackson County, Wisconsin.
  32. A town in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin.
  33. A town in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.
  34. A town in Sauk County, Wisconsin.
  35. An unincorporated community in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.
  36. A town in Vernon County, Wisconsin.
  37. A number of townships in the United States, including in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, listed under Franklin Township.

Noun (2) capitalized: Franklin

IPA/ˈfɹæŋklɪn/

Franklin (plural Franklins)

  1. (US, informal) A one-hundred-dollar bill, which carries the portrait of Benjamin Franklin.
    • That night, I bought a stack of spirit money. In U.S. currency, of course. I would make it rain Franklins in the spirit world.2018, Ling Ma, chapter 8, in Severance, →ISBN
  2. (numismatic slang) A Franklin half dollar.
  3. A member of the Franklin society, a social club at Whittier College founded in 1921.
    • Nixon beat a Franklin for student body president. [He had] learned that being hated by the right people was no impediment to political success.2008, Rick Perlstein, Nixonland

franklin meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

franklin in Hindi

फ्रैंकलिन, फ्रेंकलिन, फ्रैंकलीन

franklin in Tamil

ஃபிராங்க்ளின், பிராங்க்ளின், ஃபிராங்க்லின்

franklin in Marathi

फ्रँकलिन, फ्रॅंकलिन, फ्रँकलीन

franklin in Urdu

فرینکلن, فرینکلین, فرانکلن
More languagesFewer languages
franklin in Bengali
ফ্রাঙ্কলিন, ফ্র্যাঙ্কলিন
franklin in Telugu
ఫ్రాంక్లిన్
franklin in Malayalam
ഫ്രാങ്ക്ലിൻ, ഫ്രാങ്ക്ളിൻ, ഫ്രാങ്ലിൻ
franklin in Kannada
ಫ್ರಾಂಕ್ಲಿನ್, ಫ್ರ್ಯಾಂಕ್ಲಿನ್
franklin in Punjabi
ਫਰੈਂਕਲਿਨ, ਫਰੈਂਕਲੀਨ, ਫ੍ਰੈਂਕਲਿਨ
franklin in Gujarati
ફ્રેન્કલિન, ફ્રેન્કલીન, ફ્રાન્કલિન
franklin in Odia
ଫ୍ରାଙ୍କଲିନ୍, ଫ୍ରାନ୍କଲିନ୍, ଫ୍ରାଙ୍କଲିନ
franklin in Nepali
फ्रान्कलिन, फ्र्याङ्कलिन, फ्राङ्कलिन

Synonyms of franklin

Forms of franklin

Noun
pluralfranklins
pluralFranklins
Proper noun
pluralFranklins

Plural of franklin: franklins

Origin of franklin

From Middle English frankelein (“freeholder”), from Anglo-Norman fraunclein (“a landowner of free, but not noble birth”), from Old French fraunc (“free”), from Frankish *Frankō (“Frank”, literally “freeman”) + Old French -lein (“-ling”), from Frankish *-ling (“-ling”). More at frank, -ling.

From Middle English frankelein (“freeholder”), see franklin. The place names are mostly named after American statesman Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790).

Words formed from franklin

Phrases with franklin

Questions about franklin

What does franklin mean?
Franklin means a freeholder, especially as belonging to a class of landowners in the 14th and 15th century ranking at the bottom of the gentry.
What is franklin in Hindi?
Franklin in Hindi is फ्रैंकलिन, फ्रेंकलिन, फ्रैंकलीन. See Franklin meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is franklin?
Franklin can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce franklin?
Franklin is pronounced /ˈfɹæŋk.lɪn/.
What is the plural of franklin?
The plural of franklin is franklins.

Words near franklin in the dictionary

  1. Frankland
  2. Franklands
  3. Frankley
  4. franklier
  5. frankliest
  6. franklin
  7. Franklin County
  8. Franklin grouse
  9. Franklin Harbour
  10. Franklin Lakes
  11. Franklin Parish

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: franklin (page history and authors); Franklin (page history and authors); franklin (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); franklin (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); franklin (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); franklin (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); franklin (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); franklin (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); franklin (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); franklin (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); franklin (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); franklin (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); franklin (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); franklin (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-franklin.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Franklin.wav.

Cite this entry: “franklin.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/franklin. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.