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thing

noun
/ˈθɪŋ/US/ˈθiŋ//θɪŋ/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tenk-? Proto-Indo-European *tenkóm Proto-Germanic *þingą Proto-West Germanic *þing Old English þing Middle English thing English thing From Middle English thing, from Old English þing, from Proto-West Germanic *þing, from Proto-Germanic *þingą. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Ding (“thing”), West Frisian ting, ding (“thing”), Dutch ding (“thing”), German Low German Ding (“thing”), German Ding (“thing”), Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian ting (“thing”), Faroese ting (“parliament, assembly”), Icelandic þing (“congress, assembly”). The word originally meant "assembly", then came to mean a specific issue discussed at such an assembly, and ultimately came to mean most broadly "an object". Compare Latin rēs, also meaning "legal matter", and same transition from Latin causa (“legal matter”) to "thing" in Romance languages. Modern use to refer to a Germanic assembly is likely influenced by cognates (from the same Proto-Germanic root) like Old Norse þing (“thing”), Danish ting, Swedish ting, and Old High German ding with this meaning.

  1. inherited from *þingą✻
  2. inherited from *þing✻
  3. inherited from þing
  4. inherited from thing

Definitions

  1. That which is considered to exist as a separate entity, object, quality or concept.

    • Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us...

  2. A word, symbol, sign, or other referent that can be used to refer to any entity.

  3. An individual object or distinct entity.

  4. ›+ 22 more definitions

    1. Whatever can be owned.

    2. Corporeal object.

    3. Possessions or equipment

      Possessions or equipment; stuff; gear.

      • Hold on, let me just grab my things.

    4. The latest fad or fashion.

      • To go to bed late, to rise late, to breakfast late, to dine late, and to visit late, is to be “quite the thing,” or in good English, which you may understand better than the first phrase, to be in the fashion.
      • After a slow start it became the thing to do; 'everyone went to see Pbi-Pbi, no one talked of anything but Pbi-Pbi[…]'

    5. A custom or practice.

      • Cheek kissing is a French thing; you get used to it after a while.

    6. A genuine concept, entity or phenomenon

      A genuine concept, entity or phenomenon; something that actually exists (often contrary to expectation or belief).

      • Q: Bacon pie? Is that a thing? A: Yes, I checked into it, and it's a thing. Some people are even connoisseurs about it.
      • Now I don't know how many of those male flight attendants are male lesbians -- you know... (Laughter) Well, it's a thing. I mean, there's a -- it's a -- there's a feminist professor down in Tampa who's discovered a male lesbian

    7. A unit or container, usually containing consumable goods.

      • Could you get me a thing of apple juice at the store?
      • I just ate a whole thing of jelly beans.
      • And he invited us all in there and then he kicked the girls out a little bit later and brought me in a couple things of alcohol. And just before he brought in my second bottle of alcohol[…]

    8. A problem, dilemma, or complicating factor.

      • The car looks cheap, but the thing is, I have doubts about its safety.
      • That's the thing: we don't know where he is.
      • We can't exactly die; that's like, the whole thing here?

    9. A penis.

      • “Oh Gertie it’s true. It’s all true. They’ve got a horrid gash instead of a thrilling thing.”

    10. A vulva or vagina.

      • ‘They reckon she lets her dogs lick her thing.’

    11. A living being or creature.

      • you poor thing
      • sweet young thing
      • she's a funny old thing, but her heart's in the right place

    12. Used after a noun to refer dismissively to the situation surrounding the noun's referent.

      • Oh yeah, I'm supposed to promote that vision thing.
      • Don’t forget to have Gomez postpone that shooting thing. (in reference to the execution of Fernandez)

    13. That which is favoured

      That which is favoured; personal preference.

      • it's not really my thing
      • Tool talk [is] not my thing.
      • The Internet isn't my thing. I so much rather talk on the phone.

    14. One's typical routine, habits, or manner.

      • let me do my thing; I'm here doing my thing
      • But I'm just a guy from Missoula, Montana, doing my thing, going down the road like everybody else.

    15. A public assembly or judicial council in a Germanic country.

      • In accordance with Old Germanic custom men came to the thing fully armed, [...]
      • The goðar seem both to have received payment of thing-fararkaup from those who stayed home and at the same time compensated those who went to the thing, and it cannot be seen whether they had any profit from these transactions.
      • All Icelandic things were skap-thing, meaning that they were governed by established procedure and met at regular legally designated intevals at predetermined meeting places.

    16. A romantic relationship.

      • I can screw you in front of everyone. I don't care, we have a thing going on, you know. I love you,” she said.

    17. A romantic couple.

      • Are John and Jennifer a thing again? I thought they broke up.

    18. Alternative form of ting.

    19. Girl

      Girl; attractive woman.

      • Look at the nyash on that thing!

    20. To express as a thing

      To express as a thing; to reify.

    21. Nickname or appellative for numerous "things", including fictional characters.

    22. Nickname for the Volkswagen 181.

The neighborhood

Derived

a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, a little learning is a dangerous thing, all good things come to an end, all good things must come to an end, all things being equal, all things come to those who wait, all things considered, all things to all men, all things to all people, a mind is a terrible thing to waste, among other things, and another thing, another thing, any old thing, anything, a thing or two, bad things come in threes, be another thing, be a thing, be one thing, best thing since sliced bread, best thing since sliced pan, big things come in small packages, bright young thing, by the looks of things, chance'd be a fine thing, chance would be a fine thing, close thing, current thing, cute girls doing cute things, done thing, do one's own thing, do one's thing, do the decent thing, do the handsome thing, do the honorable thing, do the honourable thing, do the proper thing, do the right thing, everything · +111 more

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for thing. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA