drighten

drighten · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*dʰrewgʰ-“to hold, hold fast, support”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*druhtinaz“leader, chief, lord”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*druhtin
4. Old English · borrowed fromdryhten“a ruler, king, lord, prince, the supreme ruler, the Lord, God, Christ”
5. Middle English · borrowed fromdrighte
6. English todaydrighten

Borrowed from Middle English drighte, drightin and its etymon Old English dryhten (“a ruler, king, lord, prince, the supreme ruler, the Lord, God, Christ”), from Proto-West Germanic *druhtin, from Proto-Germanic *druhtinaz (“leader, chief, lord”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- (“to hold, hold fast, support”). Cognate with Old Frisian drochten (“lord”), Old Saxon drohtin (“lord”), Old High German truhtin, Middle High German truhten, trohten (“ruler, lord”) (obsolete German Trechtin, Trechtein (“lord, God”)), Danish drot (“king”), Swedish drott (“king, ruler, sovereign”), Icelandic dróttinn (“hero, ruler, lord”), Finnish ruhtinas (“sovereign prince”). Related also to Old English dryht (“troop, army”), Old English ġedryht (“troop, body of men”), Old English drēogan (“to serve in the military, endure”). More at dree. By surface analysis, dright (“army, host”) + -en.

Drighten · proper noun²

See drighten.

Words from the same roots