Some earl or duke? Possibly (4)
I believe the answer is:
lord
This clue is a double definition.
'some earl' is the first definition.
(thesaurus)
'duke? possibly' is the second definition.
(duke is a kind of lord)
'or' is the link.
(Other definitions for lord that I've seen before include "Male 18" , "Until 2006 the presiding officer of the House of Lords and head of the judiciary" , "Titled nobleman" , "Man of noble rank" , "Titled peer of the realm" .)