THANE, noun The thanes in England were formerly persons of some dignity; of these there were two orders, the king's thanes, who attended the Saxon and Danish kings in their courts, and held lands immediately of them; and the ordinary thanes, who were lords of manors, and who had a particular jurisdiction within their limits. After the conquest, this title was disused, and baron took its place.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI