cyning

Definition

An Anglo-Saxon (early English) king.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Old English cyning. Doublet of king and knez.

Example Sentences

• "The firſt cynings of the Anglo Saxons ſeem to have been their war-kings, continued for life, and the crown was not hereditary, but elective."
• "To write the history of the numerous Gypsy dynasties in the British Isles, from the somewhat mythical days of Johnnie Faa to the demise of the last of his royal house who claimed and bore the royal title, would be a more difficult task than to trace and verify the genealogy of the petty cynings and bretwaldas of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy up to Hengist, Horsa, and Ida, and thence back to Thor and Odin."
• "Then Saxon cynings ruled, with various fortune, / Six centuries; ( fighting ofttimes, king against king.)"