thane

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“
I had rather that the thane was my friend than my foe, for he would be no open enemy I left the feast when the first change of guard went out, for I saw that the ale cup was passing faster than we Danes think fitting, being less given to it than the English.

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Definitions (7)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun A freeman granted land by the king in return for military service in Anglo-Saxon England.
  2. noun A man ranking above an ordinary freeman and below a nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England.
  3. noun A feudal lord or baron in Scotland.

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Examples (50)

  • He walked slowly away The Hoorka-thane was possessed by the closest approximation of rage any had ever seen in him Gunnar simply escaped, you say. —  Asimov's Science Fiction - 1977_02(002)Summer
  • Selig tossed aside his cracked shield and reached for another, knowing without looking that a loyal thane was at hand. —  Carey, Jaqueline - Kushiel's Dart orig
  • This proves Thord Kolbeinson in a song that he made on Gunnlaug the Wormtongue Grim and Olaf great-hearts In Gondul's din, with thin sword First did Gunnlaug fell there Ere at Raven fared he Bold, with blood be-drifted Bane of three the thane was War-lord of the wave-horse Wrought for men folks' slaughter Meanwhile Raven and Thorkel the Black, Gunnlaug's kinsman, fought until Thorkel fell before Raven and lost his life; and so at last all their fellowship fell. —  The Story Of Gunnlaug The Worm-Tongue And Raven The Skald 1875
  • He gaid away thane, and apperit to hir att ane vthir tyme, ane lustie mane, with mony mene and wemen with him: And that scho sanit hir and prayit, and past with thame forder nor scho could tell; and saw with thame pypeing and mirrynes and good scheir. —  The Witch-cult in Western Europe A Study in Anthropology
  • A thane was a sort of chieftain in the Saxon state. —  King Alfred of England Makers of History
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Old English thegn; see tek- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English thane, thein, theign (Middle Latin thainus), from Anglo-Saxon thegen, thegn, a soldier, attendant, servant of the king, a minister, nobleman, = Old Saxon thegan = Old High German degan, an attendant, servant, soldier, disciple, Middle High German degen, a soldier, = Icelandic thegn, a soldier, warrior, freeman, = Gothic (Moesogothic) *thigns (not recorded); perhaps = Greek τέκνον, child, hence in Teutonic boy, attendant, soldier, servant (cf. Anglo-Saxon mago, child, boy, servant, man: see may); with formative -n (-no-), orig. past participle, from the root seen in Greek τίκτειν, τεκεῑν, beget, bring forth, τόκος, birth, Sanskrit toka, child. Otherwise akin to Anglo-Saxon theów = Old High German diu = Gothic (Moesogothic) thius (thiwa-, orig. thigwa-): see thew. The proper modern form would be *thain, parallel with rain, main, sain, rail, sail, tail, etc.
 

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/θeɪn/
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