The Etymology of the Word "þegn": A Case Study of a Happy Marriage Between Linguistics and History?
Channel: Denis Sukhino-Khomenko
Date: 2018-05-16

Presentation at the workshop "Perspectives on the Middle Ages".
The presentation was a draft of a paper I'm working on with linguist Guus Kroonen. Its premise is the assumption that the hitherto established etymology of the OE/ON word þegn (also OHG and OS thegan) is linguistically improbable and thus needs a revision. The article offers historical evidence in support of Guus Kroonen’s recent claim of that þegn is not connected to the Ancient Greek lexeme for “a child,” τέκνον (from PIE *tek-no), and instead stems from PGmc *þegjan- “to request,” thus ab initio denoting a “retainer.” If Kroonen’s surmise is correct, it might have some implications for historical research, though it is argued throughout this essay not to substitute the latter with sheer linguistics.
I hope that Guus and I will be able to publish the final manuscript shortly.
Meanwhile, feel free to explore the PPT of my presentation at https://www.academia.edu/36563770/The_Etymology_of_the_Word_þegn_A_Case_Study_of_a_Happy_Marriage_Between_Linguistics_and_History
I would like to thank Frederik Vognsen Hansen and his colleagues for organising a brilliant workshop.

P.S. Note my mistake at 16:34: it is Dennis H. Green, not David.