franklin Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun United States historian noted for studies of Black American history (born in 1915)
    John Hope Franklin.
  2. noun printer whose success as an author led him to take up politics; he helped draw up the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; he played a major role in the American Revolution and negotiated French support for the colonists; as a scientist he is remembered particularly for his research in electricity (1706-1790)
    Benjamin Franklin.
  3. noun a landowner (14th and 15th centuries) who was free but not of noble birth

WordNet

Frank"lin noun
Etymology
OE. frankelein; cf. LL. franchilanus. See Frank, a.
Definitions
  1. An English freeholder, or substantial householder. Obs. Chaucer.
    The franklin, a small landholder of those days. Sir J. Stephen.

Webster 1913