thane

American  

[theyn] / θeɪn /

Or thegn

noun

1. 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.

2. 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.

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thane British  

/ ˈθeɪnɪdʒ, θeɪn /

noun

1. (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

2. 1. a person of rank, often the chief of a clan, holding land from the king

   2. a lesser noble who was a Crown official holding authority over an area of land

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Other Word Forms

• thanage noun
• underthane noun

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.

Example Sentences

Corey Hawkins, who burst on the scene as Dr. Dre in “Straight Outta Compton,” won supporting actor for his role as Macduff, the primary antagonist to Denzel Washington’s bloody thane in “The Tragedy of Macbeth.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2022

It has been an ambition ever since he first encountered the play, taking on the role of Macduff and the Sargent to Ayub Khan-Din’s thane.

From The Guardian • Mar. 11, 2018

Macbeth, with Michael Fassbender as the ambitious thane and Marion Cotillard as his hand-scrubbing lady.

From Slate • Jan. 9, 2015

Greeted with rapturous reviews when it debuted at the Manchester International Festival, this production features Mr. Branagh as the murderous thane and Alex Kingston as his fiendlike queen.

From New York Times • May 29, 2014

Whether or not they believed his wild tale of superhuman strength, no thane in the hall would attack him again and risk the slash of that mild, coolly murderous tongue.

From "Grendel" by John Gardner