atheling
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of atheling
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English ætheling (cognate with Old High German ediling, adalung, Old Saxon ethiling ), equivalent to æthel(u) “noble family” (cognate with Old High German adoul, German Adel, Old Saxon athal(i), Old Norse athal “nature”; akin to Tocharian atäl “man”) + -ing noun suffix; see -ing 3
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.
The atheling of Geatmen uttered these words and 20 Heroic did hasten, not any rejoinder Was willing to wait for; the wave-current swallowed He is a whole day reaching the bottom of the sea.
From Beowulf An Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem by Hall, Lesslie
"I have three chiefs in my mind who can match these," said our atheling.
From King Olaf's Kinsman A Story of the Last Saxon Struggle against the Danes in the Days of Ironside and Cnut by Whistler, Charles W. (Charles Watts)
An indolent atheling: to the honor-blest man there Came requital for the cuts he had suffered.
From Beowulf An Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem by Hall, Lesslie
“She said that she would give it me were the youth and the maiden of the forest the same as the atheling and his sister,” said Ethelred, merrily.
From A Maid at King Alfred?s Court by Madison, Lucy Foster
My father before me of folks was well-famed Van-leader and atheling, Ecgtheow he hight.
From The Tale of Beowulf Sometime King of the Folk of the Weder Geats by Anonymous
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.
