Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Franklin \Frank"lin\, n. [OE. frankelein; cf. LL. franchilanus.
   See {Frank}, a.]
   An English freeholder, or substantial householder. [Obs.]
   --Chaucer.

         The franklin, a small landholder of those days. --Sir
                                                  J. Stephen.

Source : WordNet®

Franklin
     n 1: United States historian noted for studies of Black American
          history (born in 1915) [syn: {John Hope Franklin}]
     2: 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)
        [syn: {Benjamin Franklin}]
     3: a landowner (14th and 15th centuries) who was free but not
        of noble birth