thane
/θeɪn/noun
1- historical (in Anglo-Saxon England) a man who held land granted by the king or by a military nobleman, ranking between an ordinary freeman and a hereditary noble〈史〉（盎格鲁-撒克逊时期英国的）大乡绅（地位介于普通自由民与世袭贵族之间）。
1.1
- (in Scotland) a man, often the chief of a clan, who held land from a Scottish king and ranked with an earl's son（苏格兰）族长; 受赐封地的领主（其地位相当于伯爵之子）。
派生词
thanedom
noun词源
Old English theg（e）n 'servant， soldier'， of Germanic origin; related to German Degen 'warrior'， from an Indo-European root shared by Greek teknon 'child'， tokeus 'parent'.