thing

English

Alternative forms

• thang (slang, pronunciation spelling, usually used to denote a known fad or popular activity)
• thin' (informal, pronunciation spelling)
• thinge (archaic)
• thynge (obsolete)
• ting (Caribbean creoles, MLE)

Etymology

From Middle English thing, from Old English þing, from Proto-West Germanic *þing, from Proto-Germanic *þingą.

Compare West Frisian ding, Low German Ding, Dutch ding, German Ding, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian ting.

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.

Pronunciation

• enPR: thĭng, IPA^(key): /θɪŋ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪŋ

Noun

thing (plural things)

1. That which is considered to exist as a separate entity, object, quality or concept.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 1:1:

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

   • 2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 48:

     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 you love with the world" and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.

   • Exist definition

     to be; have existence; have being or reality

   • Entity definition

     That which has a distinct existence as an individual unit. Often used for organisations which have no physical form. (1 of 6 entity definitions)

   • Object definition

     A thing that has physical existence but is not alive. (1 of 9 object definitions)

   • Quality definition

     Level of excellence. (1 of 8 quality definitions)

   • Concept definition

     An abstract and general idea; an abstraction. (1 of 3 concept definitions)
2. A word, symbol, sign, or other referent that can be used to refer to any entity.

   • Word definition

     The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language.

     1. The smallest discrete unit of spoken language with a particular meaning, composed of one or more phonemes and one or more morphemes
     2. The smallest discrete unit of written language with a particular meaning, composed of one or more letters or symbols and one or more morphemes
     3. A discrete, meaningful unit of language approved by an authority or native speaker (compare non-word).

     (1 of 24 word definitions)

   • Symbol definition

     (1 of 18 symbol definitions)

   • Sign definition

     A fact that shows that something exists or may happen. (1 of 13 sign definitions)

   • Referent definition

     The specific entity in the world that a word or phrase identifies or denotes. (1 of 2 referent definitions)
3. An individual object or distinct entity.
4. (law)
   1. Whatever can be owned.
   2. Corporeal object.

   • Law definition

     The body of binding rules and regulations, customs, and standards established in a community by its legislative and judicial authorities. (1 of 21 law definitions)

   • Own definition

     (1 of 5 own definitions)

   • Corporeal definition

     Material; tangible; physical. (1 of 2 corporeal definitions)
5. (in the plural) Clothes, possessions or equipment.

   Hold on, let me just grab my things.

   • Clothes definition

     Items of clothing; apparel. (1 of 4 clothes definitions)

   • Possessions definition

     plural of possession

   • Equipment definition

     The act of equipping, or the state of being equipped, as for a voyage or expedition. (1 of 3 equipment definitions)
6. (somewhat dated, with the) The latest fad or fashion.
   • 1802, Anne Ormsby, "Memoirs of a Family in Swisserland", quoted in The Monthly Review, Or, Literary Journal page 45:

     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.

   • 2002, Roger Nichols, The Harlequin Years: Music in Paris 1917-1929, Univ of California Press, →ISBN:

     After a slow start it became the thing to do; 'everyone went to see Pbi-Pbi, no one talked of anything but Pbi-Pbi […] '

   • Latest definition

     superlative form of late: most late (1 of 3 latest definitions)

   • Fad definition

     A phenomenon that becomes popular for a very short time.

   • Fashion definition

     A current (constantly changing) trend, favored for frivolous rather than practical, logical, or intellectual reasons. (1 of 5 fashion definitions)
7. (informal) A custom or practice.

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

   • Custom definition

     Frequent repetition of the same behavior; way of behavior common to many; ordinary manner; habitual practice; method of doing, living or behaving. (1 of 8 custom definitions)

   • Practice definition

     Repetition of an activity to improve a skill. (1 of 10 practice definitions)
9. (informal) A genuine concept, entity or phenomenon; something that actually exists (often contrary to expectation or belief). [from 20th c.]

   Bacon pie? Is that a thing?

   • 1993 November 24, The Rush Limbaugh Show (radio), Rush Limbaugh (actor):

     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

     Accessed via COCA

   • 2014, Marianna Papastephanou, Torill Strand, Anne Pirrie, Philosophy as a Lived Experience:

     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 relapse to an ontology of race is at place […]

   • 2014, Harper Lin, Croissant Murder:

     Clémence would say that his style was normcore before normcore became a thing. She had to admit that she still found him attractive.

   • 2019, Adam Gopnik, A Thousand Small Sanities, Riverrun, published 2019, page 88:

     Conservative philosophy, in other words, is, as we say now, a thing and deserves a serious listen.

10. (informal) 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.

    • 1998 March 24, Geraldo (television):

      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 […]

      Accessed via COCA

    • 2011, 1:19:48 from the start, in We Were Here:

      I remember my friend Ben saying in the old days that he would never go to Costco and buy one of those big things of toilet paper […]

      Accessed via COCA

    • 2011, Juliette Fay, Deep Down True: A Novel, Penguin, →ISBN:

      I came home and ate a whole thing of ice cream.

    • Good definition

      1. Acting in the interest of what is beneficial, ethical, or moral. (1 of 32 good definitions)
11. (informal) A problem, dilemma, or complicating factor; the crux.

    The car looks cheap, but the thing is, I have doubts about its safety.

    • Problem definition

      (1 of 9 problem definitions)

    • Dilemma definition

      A circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable. (1 of 4 dilemma definitions)

    • Complicating definition

      present participle and gerund of complicate

    • Factor definition

      A doer, maker; a person who does things for another person or organization. (1 of 12 factor definitions)

    • Crux definition

      The basic, central, or essential point or feature. (1 of 5 crux definitions)
12. (informal) The central point; the crux.

    That's the thing: we don't know where he is.

13. (slang) A penis.
    • 1962 [1959], William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch, New York: Grove Press, page 150:

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

    • Penis definition

      The male reproductive organ used for sexual intercourse that in the human male and some other mammals is also used for urination; the tubular portion of the male genitalia (excluding the scrotum).
14. 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

    I met a pretty blond thing at the bar

    • Living definition

      present participle and gerund of live

    • Being definition

      present participle and gerund of be

    • Creature definition

      A living being, such as an animal, monster, or alien. (1 of 6 creature definitions)

    • Poor Thing definition

      Someone or something to be pitied

    • Sweet Young Thing definition

      An attractive young woman. (1 of 2 sweet young thing definitions)
15. 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.

    • 1914, Eugene Gladstone O'Neill, The Movie Man [playscript]:

      Don’t forget to have Gomez postpone that shooting thing. (in reference to the execution of Fernandez)

16. (informal, used possessively) That which is favoured; personal preference.

    it's not really my thing

    • 2002, Joss Whedon et al, "Never Leave Me", Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV episode):

      Tool talk [is] not my thing.

    • 2006, Corbin Bleu, interview with Tigerbeat magazine:

      The Internet isn't my thing. I so much rather talk on the phone.

    • Preference definition

      The selection of one thing or person over others (with the main adposition being "for" in relation to the thing or person, but possibly also "of") (1 of 5 preference definitions)
17. (informal, used possessively, with "do") One's typical routine, habits, or manner.

    let me do my thing;  I'm here doing my thing

    • 2006, David Lynch, Catching the Big Fish, Tarcher 2006, "Darkness", p. 91:

      But I'm just a guy from Missoula, Montana, doing my thing, going down the road like everybody else.

    • Manner definition

      Mode of action; way of performing or doing anything (1 of 8 manner definitions)
18. (chiefly historical) A public assembly or judicial council in a Germanic country.
    • 1974, Jón Jóhannesson, translated by Haraldur Bessason, A History of the Old Icelandic Commonwealth: Íslendinga Saga, page 46:

      In accordance with Old Germanic custom men came to the thing fully armed, [...]

    • 1974, Jakob Benediktsson, Landnám og upphaf allsherjarríkis, in Saga Íslands, quoted in 1988 by Jesse L. Byock in Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas, and Power, page 85:

      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.

    • 1988, Jesse L. Byock, Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas, and Power, page 59:

      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.

    • Assembly definition

      A set of pieces that work together in unison as a mechanism or device. (1 of 7 assembly definitions)

    • Judicial definition

      Of or relating to the administration of justice. (1 of 5 judicial definitions)

    • Council definition

      A committee that leads or governs (e.g. city council, student council). (1 of 2 council definitions)

    • Germanic definition

      The early, undocumented ancestral language from which other Germanic languages developed, such as Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Frisian, English, German, Faroese, Icelandic, Yiddish, Norwegian and Swedish. (1 of 2 Germanic definitions)
19. (informal) A romantic relationship.
    • 2020, David Gomadza, EVELINA: The Alpha:

      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.

    • Romantic definition

      Of a work of literature, a writer etc.: being like or having the characteristics of a romance, or poetic tale of a mythic or quasi-historical time; fantastic. (1 of 7 romantic definitions)

    • Relationship definition

      Connection or association; the condition of being related. (1 of 6 relationship definitions)
20. (informal) A romantic couple.

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

21. (MLE) Alternative form of ting.

    • Ting definition

      Used to represent the sound of a small bell.
22. (MLE) Girl; attractive woman.

    Look at the nyash on that thing!

    • Nyash definition

      Ass, buttocks.

Synonyms

• (referent that can be used to refer to any entity): item, stuff (uncountable equivalent), yoke (Ireland)
• (penis): see Thesaurus:penis
• (personal preference): see Thesaurus:predilection

Derived terms

Related terms

• diminutives: thingy / thingie, thingo [Aus]

Translations

Further reading

• “thing”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “thing”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Verb

thing (third-person singular simple present things, present participle thinging, simple past and past participle thinged)

1. (rare) To express as a thing; to reify.

   • Reify definition

     to regard something abstract as if it were a concrete material thing.

Anagrams

• Night, night

Khumi Chin

Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *thiŋ, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *siŋ. Cognates include Mizo thing and Zou sing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʰĩ˥/

Noun

thing

1. firewood

   • Firewood definition

     Wood intended to be burned, typically for heat.

References

• K. E. Herr (2011) The phonological interpretation of minor syllables, applied to Lemi Chin‎^[1], Payap University, page 44

Middle English

Alternative forms

• thinge, thyng

Etymology

From Old English þing, from Proto-West Germanic *þing, from Proto-Germanic *þingą.

Noun

thing (plural thinges)

1. thing

Descendants

• English: thing
• Scots: thing, ting, hing
• Yola: dhing

References

• “thing, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Mizo

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *siŋ. Akin to Khumi Chin thing.

Noun

thing

1. tree

   • Tree definition

     A perennial woody plant, not exactly defined, but differentiated from a shrub by its larger size (typically over a few meters; yards in height) or growth habit, usually having a single (or few) main axis or trunk unbranched for some distance above the ground and a head of branches and foliage. (1 of 16 tree definitions)
2. wood

   • Wood definition

     The substance making up the central part of the trunk and branches of a tree. Used as a material for construction, to manufacture various items, etc. or as fuel. (1 of 8 wood definitions)
3. firewood

References

• Matisoff, James A., Handbook of Proto-Tibeto-Burman, University of California Press.

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *þing.

Noun

thing n

1. thing, object
2. case, matter, issue

   • Case definition

     An actual event, situation, or fact. (1 of 10 case definitions)

   • Matter definition

     Material; substance.

     1. The basic structural component of the universe, usually having mass and volume.
     2. Matter made up of normal particles, not antiparticles. (1 of 12 matter definitions)

   • Issue definition

     The action or an instance of flowing or coming out, an outflow, particularly:

     1. A movement of soldiers towards an enemy, a sortie.
     2. The outflow of a bodily fluid, particularly in abnormal amounts. (1 of 41 issue definitions)

Inflection

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: dinc
  • Dutch: ding
    • Afrikaans: ding
    • Berbice Creole Dutch: dinggi
    • Jersey Dutch: däng
  • Limburgish: dink, ding

Further reading

• “think”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

Old High German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ðinɡ/

Noun

thing

1. Alternative form of ding

   • Ding definition

     Very minor damage, a small dent or chip. (1 of 2 ding definitions)

Declension

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *þing. Compare Old Dutch thing, Old Frisian thing, Old English þing, Old High German ding, Old Norse þing.

Noun

thing n

1. thing, object
2. matter, case

Declension

Descendants

• Middle Low German: dink
  • German Low German: Ding
  • Plautdietsch: Dinkj

Yola

Noun

thing

1. Alternative form of dhing
   • 1927, “YOLA ZONG O BARONY VORTH”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, line 4:

     Fan Buckeen hay pooked lik own thing mad.

     When Buckeen he jumped like a thing mad.

   • Dhing definition

     past analytic of ding

References

• Kathleen A. Browne (1927) The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Sixth Series, Vol.17 No.2, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, page 132