thane

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

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

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In early English history, a member of a rank above that of the ordinary freeman, and differing from that of the athelings, or hereditary ancient nobility. The distinguishing marks of all thanes were liability to military service and the ownership of land. Of the various classes of thanes the chief was that of king's thanes, whose members were subject to no jurisdiction but that of the king. The rank increased in power about the time of Alfred, and about the reign of Athelstan any freeman who owned five hides of land or had made three sea-voyages was eligible to thanehood. The thanehood corresponded nearly to the knighthood after the Norman Conquest. In the reign of Henry II. the title fell into disuse. In Scotland the thanes were a class of non-military tenants of the crown, and the title was in use till the end of the fifteenth century. The notion derived from Boece, and adopted by Shakspere in “Macbeth,” that the Scotch thanes were all transformed into earls, has no historical foundation. In some recent historical works the Anglo-Saxon thegn is used in its strict Anglo-Saxon sense.

Wiktionary

1. n. in Anglo-Saxon England, a man holding lands from the king, or from a superior in rank. There were two orders, the king's thanes, who attended the kings in their courts and held lands immediately of them, and the ordinary thanes, who were lords of manors and who had particular jurisdiction within their limits. After the Norman Conquest, this title was no longer used, and baron took its place.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A dignitary under the Anglo-Saxons and Danes in England. Of these there were two orders, the king's thanes, who attended the kings in their courts and held lands immediately of them, and the ordinary thanes, who were lords of manors and who had particular jurisdiction within their limits. After the Conquest, this title was disused, and baron took its place.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a feudal lord or baron
2. n. a man ranking above an ordinary freeman and below a noble in Anglo-Saxon England (especially one who gave military service in exchange for land)