thane
A rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron.
Noun
- A rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron.
- Sonnes, Kinsmen, Thanes, / And you whose places are the nearest, know, / We will establish our Estate vpon / Our eldest, Malcolme, whom we name hereafter, / The Prince of Cumberland: […] - c. 1606 (date written),...
- The Anglo-Saxon thanes were in all respects the predecessors of the Norman barons. The title of thane seems to have supplanted that of gesith, which appears only in the earner Anglo-Saxon laws, a denomination that may...
- The little island of Iona became the refuge of the sons and some thanes of Athelfrith, banished by Edwin. - 1910, Robert A. Thompson, The People's History of England, New York: Walter Scott Publishing:
Origin
From Middle English theyn, thein, þein, from Old English þæġn, þeġen, þeġn, from Proto-West Germanic *þegn (“man, warrior”), from Proto-Germanic *þegnaz (“man, warrior”), from Proto-Indo-European *teḱ- (“to give birth”); akin to Dutch degen, German Degen, Old Norse þegn and Ancient Greek τέκνον (téknon, “child”).
Forms
Related
Derived
thanage thanedom thanehood thaneland thanely thaneship thaness thaneworthy