thane †(military) servant or attendant; (hist.) in A.-S. times, one who held lands by military service OE.; (Sc. hist.) man holding lands of the King XV. OE. þeġ(e)n = OS. thegan man, OHG. degan boy, servant, warrior, hero (G. degen warrior), ON. þegn freeman, liegeman :- Gmc. *þeʒnaz :- IE. *teknós (cf. Gr. téknon child), f. a base *tek- repr. also by Gr. tíktein (:- *titk-) bring forth. The sp. thane is derived from Sc. usage of XV-XVI.

thane 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 (see also thegn); in Scotland, a man, often the chief of a clan, who held land from a Scottish king and ranked with an earl's son.