English
lithsman
Lithsman comes from Old English liþsmann ‘seafarer, sailor, seaman’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150liþsmann‘seafarer, sailor, seaman’
- Englishearliest quotation 1866lithsman
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150liþsmann‘seafarer, sailor, seaman’
- Englishearliest quotation 1866lithsman
Earliest quotation: 1866, Charles Kingsley, Hereward the Wake: “[H]e succeeded, by the help of the thanes north…”
The story
A learned borrowing from Old English liþsmann (‘seafarer, sailor, seaman; pirate’), related to Old Norse liðsmaðr.
Every English word from Old English liþsmann
Today it means
noun A warrior-sailor during the rule of Danish kings of England (especially from Canute onwards).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English liþsmann / lithsman