/θɒŋ/, /θɔŋ/, /θɑŋ/
OriginFrom Middle English thong, thwong, thwang, from Old English þwong, þwang (“thong, band, strap, cord, strip of leather; phylactery”), from Proto-West Germanic *þwangi, from Proto-Germanic *þwangiz, *þwanguz (“coercion, constraint, band, clamp, strap”), from Proto-Indo-European *twenk- (“to squeeze, press, pressure”). Cognate with Scots thwang, thwayng, thang (“thong”), Middle Low German dwenge (“clamp, jaws, steel-trap”), German Zwinge (“vise, clamp”), Danish tvinge (“clamp”), dialectal Norwegian tveng (“shoestrap, shoelace”), Icelandic þvengur (“strap, thong, latchet”).
- A narrow strip of material, typically leather, used to fasten, bind, or secure objects.
- Australia, plural-normallyAn item of footwear, usually of rubber, secured by two straps which join to pass between the big toe and its neighbour.
“Because of August he wears shorts and sandals, the Japanese geta sort called thongs.”
“T-shirts, cut-offs, and a pair of thongs (T-shirts, cut-offs, and a pair of thongs).”
“2006, Peter Murray, David Poole, Grant Jones, Contemporary Issues in Management and Organisational Behaviour, Thomson, page 108,
Players turned up for questioning wearing thongs, shorts and T-shirts.”
- UK, USAn item of clothing, usually an undergarment or swimwear consisting of very narrow strips designed to cover just the genitals and nothing more.
“She was impressed by her friend's confidence to wear a thong on the crowded beach.”
“"Another girl bends over to get her books from her locker. Her hot pink thong sticks out of her low-rise pants."”
“"At her friends' urging, Margo ended up buying a purple thong."”
- The largest section of a bullwhip constructed of many straps of braided leather.
Formsthongs(plural) · Thongs(plural)