thane
Americannoun
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Early English History. a member of any of several aristocratic classes of men ranking between earls and ordinary freemen, and granted lands by the king or by lords for military service.
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Scottish History. a person, ranking with an earl's son, holding lands of the king; the chief of a clan, who became one of the king's barons.
noun
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(in Anglo-Saxon England) a member of an aristocratic class, ranking below an ealdorman, whose status was hereditary and who held land from the king or from another nobleman in return for certain services
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a person of rank, often the chief of a clan, holding land from the king
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a lesser noble who was a Crown official holding authority over an area of land
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of thane
before 900; late Middle English, spelling variant ( Scots ) of Middle English thain, thein, Old English thegn; cognate with Old Norse thegn subject, German Degen warrior, hero, Greek téknon child
Explanation
The noun thane is good for describing a man who owned land back in feudal times. Maybe your distant ancestor was a thane who served an Anglo-Saxon king. In Anglo-Saxon England, there was a hierarchy with the king at the very top: a thane was fairly high in this ranking, not quite a nobleman but more powerful than an ordinary citizen. You don't come across the word very often these days unless you're reading Shakespeare. Macbeth is perhaps the most famous thane in literature, in fact, and the play's popularity may have influenced the current spelling of thane, which was originally spelled thegn.
Vocabulary lists containing thane
The Tragedy of Macbeth
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Beowulf
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"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Customer Khubeb Koradia, 25, said the Thane centre took three weeks to fix software-related issues after his EV broke down in September.
From Reuters • Nov. 28, 2023
"It looked like Sam Bankman-Fried was on top of the world," lead prosecutor Thane Rehn told the packed Manhattan courtroom as the trial kicked off.
From BBC • Oct. 4, 2023
Attorney Thane Rehn thundered, pointing directly at SBF.
From Slate • Oct. 4, 2023
This places him in countless uncomfortable situations, like when his label’s star performer, Thane, makes a smartphone video of Chuck glad-handing Kenosis donors.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 20, 2023
When erthe bredis erthe & his rentis2 home brynge, 8 Thane schalle3 erthe of erthe hafe full harde partynge.
From Erthe Upon Erthe by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
