Dryhten

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An Old English title for a supreme lord, most often used of God as the ruler and master of all creation
2. The Old English name for a sovereign master, applied chiefly to the Christian God as the almighty lord
3. A term from Anglo-Saxon usage meaning lord or ruler, used especially for the divine sovereign over all things

Etymology: In Old English, "dryht" meant a troop or band of warriors, and a dryhten was the man who led one: a war-leader whose followers owed him loyalty in return for rewards. The word is built on the same root as "dryht," and poems such as "Beowulf" use it for earthly lords as well as for God. Over time, the term was applied almost exclusively to God, as Christian writers used it to render the Latin "Dominus." English eventually favoured "lord" instead. That word has a different origin, from Old English "hlaford," which literally meant "loaf-keeper," an image of the household provider. The older term kept its military sense while the newer one took over the everyday meaning.

Synonyms: lord