drighte

== Middle English == === Alternative forms === driȝt, Driȝt, driȝte, driȝth, driht, drikte, dryȝte, dryȝtte, drythe; drigten, drithe, dryghten (East Anglia); driȝten (Southern) drichtin, drihten, drist, driste, dristin, drittin (Early Middle English); drihtin (AB language); Drihhtin (Ormulum) driȝtin (County Durham); Drichtine, Drightin, Drychtin (Early Scots); drightin, driht, drihtiin, drithin, dryghtyne, þrightin (Yorkshire) driȝtine, Driȝtine, dryghtyn, Dryȝtyn (Northwest Midland); drihte, dryȝtne, dryhtin (especially West Midland) === Etymology === Inherited from Old English dryhten, from Proto-West Germanic *druhtin, from Proto-Germanic *druhtinaz. Perhaps due to standardised "church usage", this word consistently has /i/ even in dialects where Old English /y/ is retained or becomes /ɛ/; already in Old English, the form drihten is very common. The loss of /n/ is parallel to that in e.g. mayde, while forms with /iː/ in the second syllable have been attributed to association with almyghten, almyghtyn (/alˈmixtən/, /alˈmixtiːn/, ← Old English ælmihtiġan, ælmihtiġne, ælmihtiġum)). But while almyghten may have exerted some influence, it cannot be the only cause of second-syllable /iː/ in this word as forms such as drightin are found in dialects which have reflexes of ælmæhtiġ (e.g. Orm's allmahhtiȝ but Drihhtin), while it fails to explain forms of Cristen such as cristin (/krisˈtiːn/); therefore, the influence of Old French -in and its etymon Latin -īnus is probable. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈdrixt(ə)/ (later non-Northern) IPA(key): /drixˈtiːn/, /ˈdrixtiːn/ (especially Northern or North Midland) IPA(key): /ˈdrixtən/ (especially Early Middle English, Northern, or North Midland) === Proper noun === drighte (poetic) (Christianity) The Lord (God the Father or Jesus Christ) (rare) An pagan god (only in petitions) === References ===