Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/þegn

This Proto-West Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-West Germanic

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *þegnaz.

Noun

*þegn m^[1]

retainer, follower, servant

Inflection

Masculine a-stem
	Singular
Nominative	*þegn
Genitive	*þegnas
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	*þegn	þegnō, þegnōs
Accusative	*þegn	*þegnā
Genitive	*þegnas	*þegnō
Dative	*þegnē	*þegnum
Instrumental	*þegnu	*þegnum

Derived terms

*þegnōn

Descendants

Old English: þeġn, þæġn, þēn
- Middle English: theyn, dain, thain, thayn, thein, þen, þein, þeyn, ðæin, þægen, þægn, þegen, þegn, þeȝn, þeign (Early Middle English)
  - English: thane
  - Scots: thane
  - → Irish: taen
- → Medieval Latin: thainus
Old Saxon: thegan
- Middle Low German: degen, dēgen
Old Dutch: *thegen (in derivatives and compounds)
- Middle Dutch: dēgen
  - Dutch: degen
- ⇒ Old Dutch: thegenlīko (adverb)
Old High German: degan
- Middle High German: dëgen
  - German: Degen

References

^ Ringe, Donald, Taylor, Ann (2014) The Development of Old English (A Linguistic History of English; 2), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 330: “PWGmc *þegn”

[1] Ringe, Donald, Taylor, Ann (2014) The Development of Old English (A Linguistic History of English; 2), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 330: “PWGmc *þegn”

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