atheling

/ˈæðəlɪŋ/

Etymology

From Middle English atheling, from Old English æþeling, from Proto-West Germanic *aþuling, from Proto-Germanic *aþulingaz. Doublet of edling. By surface analysis, athel + -ing.

Why this word is great

ATHELING — [Noun] A prince, especially an Anglo-Saxon prince or royal heir. From Middle English atheling, from Old English æþeling, from Proto-West Germanic *aþuling, from Proto-Germanic *aþulingaz ("son of a noble family"), derived from *aþalaz ("noble"). Unlike "hlæfdige" (which denotes a noblewoman by rank alone) or "drighten" (which speaks to power, not blood), "atheling" carries the weight of lineage—the quiet certainty of succession. It is the young warrior standing at the edge of the mead-hall firelight, the untested hand gripping a sword too heavy for him, the name whispered in the same breath as kings long dust. A word for those born to rule, and for the inevitability that some never will.

noun

A prince, especially an Anglo-Saxon prince or royal heir.“[…]to substitute as the Confessor′s heir, the Atheling Edward (son of Edmund Ironside), who was then an exile in Hungary. After the atheling′s return from exile, and his very suspicious death in England in 1057, the Norman duke must surely have realized that his chief opponent in England was likely to be Harold Godwineson[…].”