abthane
US/əbˈteɪn/
abthane noun: a title used in medieval Scotland.
Noun
abthane (plural abthanes)
- A title used in medieval Scotland.
- But now a-days the English Speech getting the better of our Country Language, the Thanes of Counties are in many Places called Stewards ; and he which was antiently called Abthane, is now the Lord High Steward of Scotland ; though in some few Places the Name of Thane doth yet remain.1751, George Buchanan, History of Scotland, page 265
- Crinan was the last Abthane of Scotland; for his son, Duncan the First, appointed Bancho thane of Lochaber, as his dapifer or senescallus.1789, Archaeologia, page 331
Examples of abthane in a sentence
- Heofmas un oecced-fet was ybore of Leof, an abthane of Somertonne.1837, John Ross Dix, The life of Thomas Chatterton, page 73:
- Previous to the reign of Malcolm Canmore, in the eleventh century, the chief titles of distinction under the King in this country were those of Abthane and Thane.1838, The new statistical account of Scotland - Volume 19, page 496:
- Other early possessions probably included Ellom, Nigg, the kirkson of Arbuthnott, Inchbraoch and the Abthane of Kinghorn.1996, Peter G. B. McNeill, Hector L. MacQueen, Anona May Lyons, Atlas of Scottish History to 1707, page 361:
Forms of abthane
| plural | abthanes |
|---|---|
| alternative form | abthain |
Origin of abthane
There are two etymologies suggested for this word, each peculiar to a different suggested meaning. One is that it is from an English or Scottish form of Medieval Latin abthania or Gaelic abdhaiiie, meaning abbacy, hence an officer of the abbot. The other is that it is derived from Latin abbās (“father”) and Middle English thane, hence an overlord of regional thanes.
Words that rhyme with abthane
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- drain
- pane
- gain
- main
- sustain
- vein
- entertain
- skein
- Wayne
- abstain
- bane
- campaign
- champagne
- crane
- entrain
- fain
- insane
- maine
- pain
- plane
- stain
- wane
- Aquitaine
- ascertain
- chicane
- contain
- detain
- explain
- maintain
- mundane
- obtain
- refrain
- remain
- vane
- amain
- arcane
- Blaine
- complain
- deign
- detrain
- distrain
- kane
- ordain
- pertain
- profane
- public domain
- reign
- swain
Questions about abthane
- What does abthane mean?
- Abthane means a title used in medieval Scotland.
- How do you use abthane in a sentence?
- Heofmas un oecced-fet was ybore of Leof, an abthane of Somertonne.
- What part of speech is abthane?
- Abthane is a noun.
- How do you pronounce abthane?
- Abthane is pronounced /əbˈteɪn/ (US).
- What is the plural of abthane?
- The plural of abthane is abthanes.
Words near abthane in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: abthane (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-abthane.flac.
Cite this entry: “abthane.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/abthane. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.