18 December 2016
thane or thegn
[theyn]
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.
Origin of thane
Scots, Middle English, Old English
900 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
Related forms
underthane, noun
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for thane
Contemporary Examples
In August 2001, a politician in thane, the sprawling city northeast of Mumbai, died in the Singhania hospital there.
Mumbai on Edge With Shiv Sena Founder Bal Thackeray Ill
Dilip D’Souza
November 15, 2012
thane Creech, too, has his doubts that President Obama can deliver.
How It Played in the Gulf
Rick Outzen
June 15, 2010
Historical Examples
As he walked across the court thane looked carefully at his opponent, appraising him.
Evil Out of Onzar
Mark Ganes
“Drink and sing, thou beast, and cease prating,” the thane said.
Burlesques
William Makepeace Thackeray
As thane lined up the pirate again, the intercom said, “Five seconds to warp-line!”
Evil Out of Onzar
Mark Ganes
How, then, was a thane to plant new settlers on his ‘gesettes-land’?
The English Village Community
Frederic Seebohm
The rank of a priest as equal to that of a thane is frequently recognized.
Parish Priests and Their People in the Middle Ages in England
Edward L. Cutts
We must remember that the overlord might be the king, or a bishop; a monastery, or a thane.
Our English Towns and Villages
H. R. Wilton Hall
I am content to be a thane, as my father was before me, and seek no greater change than that of a stay for a month at court.
Wulf the Saxon
G. A. Henty
There is not a thane of them but in his house I have a servant feed.
Early English Dramatists–Recently Recovered “Lost” Tudor Plays with some others
Various
Anagram
neath
he tan
Today’s quote
Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas.
– Joseph Stalin
On this day
18 December 1655 – The Whitehall Conference ends with the determination that there was no law preventing Jews from re-entering England after the Edict of Expulsion of 1290.
18 December 1878 – Joseph Stalin, Georgian-Russian marshal and politician, 4th Premier of the Soviet Union, died from suspected poisoning 5 March 1953.
18 December 1892 – Premiere performance of The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
18 December 1942 – U.S. B24 Liberator bomber crashes into Mt Straloch on Hinchinbrook Island, North Queensland. All 29 persons on board were killed. Because of the rugged terrain and monsoonal ‘wet’ season, the bodies were not recovered for some months. The plane had flown from Amberley air base, near Brisbane, to Garbutt air base in Townsville to pick up passengers. The plane crashed during a violent storm, shortly after departure from Garbutt. It was on its way to Iron Range air base, near Lockhardt River, North Queensland.
18 December 1963 – birth of Brad Pitt, American actor.