A baronet is a British title for a man, passed down to his son when he dies. He stands below a baron in rank, but above a knight. People call him Sir, the same way they call a knight Sir, and his wife Lady; after his name you may see Bt. or Bart. Though actually, a baronet is not a peer — he does not sit in the House of Lords with the barons and dukes. The title was created in the early 1600s and has always sat in a slightly odd place: hereditary and noble-sounding, but not quite the same club as a baron. You meet the word in British history, old novels, and family names, not in everyday American talk. It is formal, and it is about rank, not about whether the man is rich or kind.