hean

• hene

• IPA^(key): /hiːn/

• Audio (Southern England):

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• Rhymes: -iːn

From Middle English hene, from Old English hēan (“lowly, despised, poor, mean, bare, abject”), from Proto-Germanic *hauniz (“low, lowly”), from Proto-Indo-European *kaw- (“to degrade, humiliate”).

Cognate with German höhn (“jeering, demeaning, bad”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌽𐍃 (hauns, “contemptible, base, humble”), Dutch hoon (“scorn, insult”), Latvian kauns (“shame, disgrace, dishonour”), Ancient Greek καυνός (kaunós, “bad”).

hean (comparative more hean, superlative most hean)

1. (obsolete) Mean; abject; poor; humble; lowly.

• heanling

From Middle English henen, from Old English hīenan (“to fell, prostrate, overcome, weaken, crush, afflict, injure, oppress, abase, humble, insult, accuse, condemn”), from Proto-West Germanic *haunijan, from Proto-Germanic *haunijaną (“to humiliate”), from Proto-Indo-European *kaw- (“to degrade, humiliate”).

Cognate with North Frisian huynjen (“to wound, abuse, hurt”), German höhnen (“to mock, jeer, scoff”) Swedish hån (“heckle, mocking”).

hean (third-person singular simple present heans, present participle heaning, simple past and past participle heaned)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To treat with contumely; insult; humiliate; debase; lower.

• Haen, Hane

From Proto-Germanic *hauniz, whence also the Old High German noun hōna.

• IPA^(key): /xæ͜ɑːn/,

hēan

1. low, mean, abject, humble
2. poor, miserable
   • 10th century, The Wanderer:

     siþþan ġeāra iū · goldwine mīn(n)e
     hrusan heolstre biwrāh, · ond iċ hēan þonan
     wōd winterċeariġ · ofer waþema ġebind,

     since once, long ago, covered my goldfriend(s)
     with darkness of earth, and poor I thereupon
     traveled sad as winter over binding of waves,

3. humiliated; despicable

• Middle English: hene
  • English: hean