drighten

See also: Drighten

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English drihten, from 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 Scots drichtin, drichtine (“lord, the Lord”), and with Old Frisian drochten (“lord”), Old Saxon drohtin (“lord”), Old High German truhtin, Middle High German truhten, trohten (“ruler, lord”) (dialectal 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 (“a multitude, an army, company, body of retainers, nation, a people, men”), Old English ġedryht (“fortune, fate”), Old English drēogan (“to serve in the military, endure”). More at dree. By surface analysis, dright (“army, host”) +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈdɹaɪ.tən/
  • Rhymes: -aɪtən

Noun

drighten (plural drightens)

  1. (historical, Anglo-Saxon, Norse mythology, fantasy, paganism or puristic; otherwise obsolete) A lord; ruler; sovereign; chief; leader; prince.
    • 2010, Stephan Grundy, Beowulf:
      Believe me, my drighten, there is not one of us that has ever slacked on watch before!
    1. (obsolete, usually capitalized) The Lord; Lord God; Christ.

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