/θɪŋ/, [θeɪŋ], /θɪŋ/
OriginFrom 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.
- 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...”
“The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you […], "share the things ”
- A word, symbol, sign, or other referent that can be used to refer to any entity.
- An individual object or distinct entity.
- Whatever can be owned.
- Corporeal object.
- in-pluralPossessions or equipment; stuff; gear.
“Hold on, let me just grab my things.”
- datedThe 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”
“After a slow start it became the thing to do; 'everyone went to see Pbi-Pbi, no one talked of anything but Pbi-Pbi[…]'”
- informalA custom or practice.
“Cheek kissing is a French thing; you get used to it after a while.”
- informalA 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'”
“Frequent statements of the kind “'Race' is not a thing”, “'races,' put simply, do not exist”, “'race' (as each essay subtly shows) simply does not exist” aim to discredit Todorov's claim that a relaps”
- informalA 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[…]”
- informalA problem, dilemma, or complicating factor.
“The car looks cheap, but the thing is, I have doubts about its safety.”
- informalThe central point; the crux.
“That's the thing: we don't know where he is.”
- euphemistic, slangA penis.
““Oh Gertie it’s true. It’s all true. They’ve got a horrid gash instead of a thrilling thing.””
- euphemistic, slangA vulva or vagina.
“‘They reckon she lets her dogs lick her thing.’”
- 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”
- 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)”
- informalThat 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.”
- informalOne'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.”
- historicalA 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 prof”
“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.”
- informalA 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.”
- informalA romantic couple.
“Are John and Jennifer a thing again? I thought they broke up.”
- Multicultural-London-EnglishGirl; attractive woman.
“Look at the nyash on that thing!”
- historicalA public assembly or judicial council in a Germanic country.
“But when the earl held a Thing, then Thorkell spoke on behalf of the freemen, told the need of the men, and bade the earl spare his people.”
“The supreme political unit of the tribe was the assembly of its free male warriors. This assembly, called the "Thing", served as the court of highest instance for dealing with individuals who had brok”
“Before Thorstein left home, he and Asgerd decided to take Arinbjorn's gift, the silk cloak, out of Egil's chest, and Thorstein wore it to the Thing.”
- informalNickname or appellative for numerous "things", including fictional characters.
- US, informal, slangNickname for the Volkswagen 181.
- rareTo express as a thing; to reify.
Formsthings(plural) · thang(alternative, pronunciation-spelling, slang, usually) · thin'(alternative, informal, pronunciation-spelling) · thinge(alternative, archaic) · thynge(alternative, obsolete) · ting(alternative) · things(present, singular, third-person) · thinging(participle, present) · thinged(participle, past) · thinged(past) · Things(plural)