Hanse
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English hanse, from Old French hanse (“guild; guild fee”), from Medieval Latin hansa, from Old High German hansa, from Proto-West Germanic *hansu, from Proto-Germanic *hansō (“gathering; coalition; gang of men”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱómsōd (“union; gathering”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by, with, along”) + *sed- (“to sit”). In reference to the Hanseatic League, via German Hanse.
Cognate with Old English hōs (“company, retinue, escorts”),[1] also Latin consilium (“council”) and Russian сосе́д (soséd, “neighbor”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
Hanse (plural Hanses)
- (historical) A merchant guild, particularly the Fellowship of London Merchants (the "Old Hanse") given a monopoly on London's foreign trade by the Normans or its successor, the Company of Merchant Adventurers (the "New Hanse"), incorporated in 1497 and chartered under Henry VII and Elizabeth I.
- (historical) The rights and privileges of such guilds, particularly their trade monopolies.
- (historical) A commercial association of Scottish free burghs in the Middle Ages.[2]
- (historical) The Hanseatic League: a commercial association of German towns in the Middle Ages.
- (historical) Alternative form of hanse, the fees payable to a Hanse or its guildhall.
Usage notes edit
In reference to the cities of the Hanseatic League taken collectively, used as "the Hanses".
Synonyms edit
- (merchant guild): See guild
- (league of German cities): See Hanseatic League
- (fees or residence): See hanse and guildhall
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
|
References edit
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "Hanse, n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1898;
- ^ Smith, William Charles. "Borough" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. IV. Charles Scribner's Sons (New York), 1878, p. 64.
Anagrams edit
German edit
Etymology edit
From Middle High German hanse (“guild”), from Old High German hansa (“group; community; guild”), from Proto-West Germanic *hansu, from Proto-Germanic *hansō.
The modern specification of these sense follows Middle Low German hanse (“guild; Hanseatic League”), which is itself an early borrowing from Middle High German.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
Hanse f (genitive Hanse, plural Hansen)
- (historical) a kind of commercial, and sometimes military, confederation of cities in the later Middle Ages; in particular the Hanseatic League of northern Germany
- die Deutsche Hanse ― the Hanseatic League
- die Hanse der 17 Städte ― the Hanse of the 17 cities
- (by analogy) any similar confederation based first and foremost on commercial interests