Etymology · Proto-West Germanic
*hansu
2 English words descend from Proto-West Germanic *hansu, most common first.
- HanseaticOf or pertaining to the German Hanse.
- hanseA merchant guild, particularly the Fellowship of London Merchants (the "Old Hanse") given a monopoly on London's foreign trade by the Normans or its successor, the Company of Merchant Adventurers (the "New Hanse"), incorporated in 1497 and chartered under Henry VII and Elizabeth I.