dreng

• drench, drenge

Probably borrowed from Medieval Latin drengus, from Middle English dreng (“warrior, retainer”) or its source, Old English drenġ (“warrior, soldier”), from Proto-West Germanic *drangī, from Proto-Germanic *drangijaz, cognate to Old Norse drengr.

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɹɛŋ/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛŋ

dreng (plural drengs)

1. (historical, UK) A kind of feudal free tenant with military duties, mentioned in the Domesday Book.
   • 1711, “Chapter XVII: Of Tallage”, in Thomas Madox, The Hiſtory and Antiquities of the Exchequer of the Kings of England‎, London: John Matthews, page 480:

     In the reign of K. Richard I, the Theines and Drenges of Northumberland were tallaged. They paid each of them 80 much de Dono (o).

   • 1862, “Appendix T: The Laws of King Henry the First”, in E. William Robertson, Scotland Under Her Early Kings: A History of the Kingdom to the Close of the 13th Century‎, volume 2, Edinburgh: Edmonston & Douglas, page 513:

     Accordingly, long after the Conquest, the Thegns and Drengs of Northumberland, and the Drengs, Thegns, and Villeins of the bishopric of Durham, continued to be tallaged.

   • 2000, “Society and Status”, in Birgit Sawyer, The Viking-age Rune-stones: Custom and Commemoration in Early Medieval Scandinavia‎, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 106:

     It is significant that, as Map 2 shows, the main concentrations of thegns and drengs are in the east of the territory that was apparently tributary to the Danish king in about AD 1000.

Variant of drenjë, from Proto-Indo-European *dreu- (“tree”). Occurs in Cham Albanian.

dreng m (feminine drenge)

1. strong, healthy, sound

• drenjë
• drënjë

From Old Norse drengr (“young warrior”), from Proto-Germanic *drangijaz (“man, servant”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈdrɛŋˀ/, [ˈd̥ʁɑ̈ŋˀ]

• audio

  (file)

dreng c (singular definite drengen, plural indefinite drenge)

1. boy, lad

• dranch, dring, dringch, ðring

Inherited from Old English drenġ, from Proto-West Germanic *drangī, from Proto-Germanic *drangijaz. Some forms are influenced by Old Norse drengr.

• IPA^(key): /drɛndʒ/, /drindʒ/
• (from Old Norse drengr) IPA^(key): /drɛnɡ/, /drinɡ/

dreng (plural drenges)

1. (poetic) A warrior or soldier; a person who fights.
   1. A follower of a lord; a member of a host.
   2. (rare) A lord or chieftain.
2. (rare) A dreng (military vassal)

• → Medieval Latin: drengus
  • → English: dreng, drench, drenge
• >? Scots: dring

• “dreng, drenǧ, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

From Old Norse drengr.

• IPA^(key): /drɛŋː/

dreng m (definite singular drengen, indefinite plural drengar or drenger, definite plural drengane or drengene)

1. a farmhand
2. an assistant, apprentice

• “dreng” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Proto-West Germanic *drangī, from Proto-Germanic *drangijaz.

• IPA^(key): /drenj/, [drend͡ʒ]

drenġ m

1. (poetic) warrior; soldier

• Middle English: dreng, dranch, dring, dringch, ðring
  • → Medieval Latin: drengus
    • → English: dreng, drench, drenge
  • >? Scots: dring