thane

Pronunciation

• IPA: /θeɪn/^[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English thein, theyn,^[2][3][4] from Old English þegn “military follower, retainer”,^{[5][2][3][4][6]} from Proto-Germanic *þegnaz,^[2][3] related to Old Norse þegn (“freeman, thane”) and German Degen “warrior, hero”.^[2][3][6] It may be related to Greek téknon “child”,^[3][4][6] though Beekes finds the link phonetically difficult.^[3] The spelling thane is Scottish;^[2][3][6] the regular development of Old English þegn would have been thain.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Old English, a servant or attendant, often used of Christ's disciples (before 700), and a military follower (before 800).^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

In Anglo-Saxon England a thane held land from the king or another lord in return for military service (805).^[7][5][4] The sense of a man ranking between an earl and an ordinary freeman is from the late 15th century.^[2][3] In Scotland from 1220 a thane was a landholder ranking with an earl's son, or a clan chief who became one of the king's barons,^[7][3][6] and the Scottish spelling probably prevailed through Shakespeare's Macbeth.^[3] Some historians now write thegn for the Anglo-Saxon rank.^[3][6]

Timeline

• before 700 – a servant or disciple.^[7]
• about 725 – a military follower, in Beowulf.^[2]
• 805 – a landholder by military service.^[7]
• 1220 – a Scottish thane.^[7]
• about 1470 – a man ranking between earl and freeman.^[2][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. In Anglo-Saxon England, a freeman granted land by the king in return for military service.
2. In Anglo-Saxon England, a man ranking above an ordinary freeman and below an earl.
3. In Scotland, a feudal lord or baron, often the chief of a clan.

Word family

• thaneship
• thanage

Related words

• thegn
• earl
• churl

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ a b c d e f Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press