Meanings
thane1
plural thanes · alternative thegn · alternative thayn · alternative obsolete thein · alternative obsolete theine
- historicalA rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron.
Never need you fear for a single thane of your sept or nation, young warriors or old.
1999, Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, London: Faber and Faber, page 544 more examples
Sonnes, Kinsmen, Thanes, / And you whose places are the nearest, know, / We will establish our Estate vpon / Our eldest, Malcolme, whom we name hereafter, / The Prince of Cumberland: […]
c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]The Anglo-Saxon thanes were in all respects the predecessors of the Norman barons. The title of thane seems to have supplanted that of gesith, which appears only in the earner Anglo-Saxon laws, a denomination that may originally have designated the attendants or companions of the king, and whose wergild being triple that of the simple freeman, were, therefore, denominated not only gesithcund men, but six-hynde men.
1845, Johann Martin Lappenberg, translated by Benjamin Thorpe, A History of England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings, published 2004, page 317The little island of Iona became the refuge of the sons and some thanes of Athelfrith, banished by Edwin.
1910, Robert A. Thompson, The People's History of England, New York: Walter Scott Publishing2000, Wulfstan, Robert Boenig (editor and translator), Sermo Lupi ad Anglos, Anglo-Saxon Spirituality: Selected Writings, page 144, Although some serfs escape from their lord and turn away from Christendom to the Vikings and after this it happens that the clash of swords becomes common to thane and serf, if the serf utterly kills the thane, he lies unpaid by all of the serf's kin.
Thane2
alternative Thana
- A large city and district of Maharashtra, India, part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
Origin
thane · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*teḱ-“to give birth”
- Proto-Germanic*þegnaz“man, warrior”
- Proto-West Germanic*þegn“man, warrior”
- Old Englishþæġn
- Middle Englishtheyn
- Englishthane
From Middle English theyn, thein, þein, from Old English þæġn, þeġen, þeġn, from Proto-West Germanic *þegn (“man, warrior”), from Proto-Germanic *þegnaz (“man, warrior”), from Proto-Indo-European *teḱ- (“to give birth”); akin to Dutch degen, German Degen, Old Norse þegn and Ancient Greek τέκνον (téknon, “child”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Thane · proper noun
Transliteration of Marathi ठाणे (ṭhāṇe). Doublet of thana.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 塔那
- 塔那 (Tǎnèi, Tǎnà)city in India
German Lehnsmann, Than
- LehnsmannA rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron
- ThanA rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron
Hindi ठाणे
- ठाणे (ṭhāṇe)city in India
Irish taen
- taenA rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron
Italian thane, thegn
- thaneA rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron
- thegnA rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron
Japanese ターネー
- ターネー (Tānē)city in India
Latin thenus, thegnus
- thenusA rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron
- thegnusA rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron
- theinusA rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron
- thegenA rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron
Russian тан, Тхане
- тан (tan)A rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron
- Тхане (Txane)city in India
- Тхана (Txana)city in India
Spanish thane
- thaneA rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with thane
Anagrams
Cite this entry
thane. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thane
“thane.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thane. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thane,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thane.
Source: thane on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.