thing meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

thing

nounalso spelled Thing

US, UK /ˈθɪŋ/ · /ˈθiŋ/

Etymology

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”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish 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.

22 senses

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...1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 1:1:
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.2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 48:

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

An individual object or distinct entity.

Law Whatever can be owned.

Law Corporeal object.

In plural Possessions or equipment; stuff; gear.

Hold on, let me just grab my things.

Dated, With the 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.1802, Anne Ormsby, "Memoirs of a Family in Swisserland", quoted in The Monthly Review, Or, Literary Journal page 45
After a slow start it became the thing to do; 'everyone went to see Pbi-Pbi, no one talked of anything but Pbi-Pbi[…]'2002, Roger Nichols, The Harlequin Years: Music in Paris 1917-1929, Univ of California Press, →ISBN:

Informal A custom or practice.

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

Informal, With a 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 lesbian1993 November 24, The Rush Limbaugh Show (radio), Rush Limbaugh (actor):

3 more examples

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, Marianna Papastephanou, Torill Strand, Anne Pirrie, Philosophy as a Lived Experience:
Clémence would say that his style was normcore before normcore became a thing. She had to admit that she still found him attractive.2014, Harper Lin, Croissant Murder:
Conservative philosophy, in other words, is, as we say now, a thing and deserves a serious listen.2019, Adam Gopnik, A Thousand Small Sanities, Riverrun, published 2019, page 88:

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.

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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[…]1998 March 24, Geraldo (television):
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[…]2011, 1:19:48 from the start, in We Were Here:
I came home and ate a whole thing of ice cream.2011, Juliette Fay, Deep Down True: A Novel, Penguin, →ISBN:

Informal 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.

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We can't exactly die; that's like, the whole thing here?2025 June 20, Gooseworx, “Untitled” (18:28 from the start), in The Amazing Digital Circus, episode 5, spoken by Ragatha (Amanda Hufford):

Euphemistic, Slang A penis.

“Oh Gertie it’s true. It’s all true. They’ve got a horrid gash instead of a thrilling thing.”1962 [1959], William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch, New York: Grove Press, page 150:

Euphemistic, Slang A vulva or vagina.

‘They reckon she lets her dogs lick her thing.’1982, Paul Radley, My Blue-Checker Corker and Me, Sydney: Fontana/Collins, page 65:

A living being or creature.

you poor thing
sweet young thing

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she's a funny old thing, but her heart's in the right place
I met a pretty blond thing at the bar

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

Informal, In the negative, Used possessively That which is favoured; personal preference.

it's not really my thing
Tool talk [is] not my thing.2002, Joss Whedon et al, "Never Leave Me", Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV episode)

1 more example

The Internet isn't my thing. I so much rather talk on the phone.2006, Corbin Bleu, interview with Tigerbeat magazine

Informal, Used possessively, With "do" 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.2006, David Lynch, Catching the Big Fish, Tarcher 2006, "Darkness", p. 91

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

In accordance with Old Germanic custom men came to the thing fully armed, [...]1974, Jón Jóhannesson, translated by Haraldur Bessason, A History of the Old Icelandic Commonwealth: Íslendinga Saga, page 46:
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.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

1 more example

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

Informal 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.2020, David Gomadza, EVELINA: The Alpha:

Informal A romantic couple.

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

Multicultural London English, Alternative Alternative form of ting.

Multicultural London English Girl; attractive woman.

Look at the nyash on that thing!

Synonyms: item, stuff, yoke, penis, predilection
Derived terms: 166 terms
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Related terms: thingy, thingie, thingo [Aus], thee, theedom

thing

verb

Etymology

Rare To express as a thing; to reify.

Thing

noun

/θɪŋ/

Etymology See thing.

Historical A 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.1894, George W. Dasent, transl., The Orkneyingers Saga: Icelandic Sagas, volume 3:
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 broken fundamental elements of the tribal pact, an occasion to meet and to reinforce ties among members, and, often, an assembly which preceded a military campaign.1988, Patrick J. Geary, Chapter II, "The Barbarian World in the Sixth Century", 'Germanic Culture', Before France and Germany: the creation and transformation of the Merovingian world, page 55

2 more examples

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.1997, “Egil's Saga”, in Bernard Scudder, transl., The Sagas of Icelanders, Penguin, published 2001, page 168:
1928 The Executive Committee of the Law Thing is created to assume executive powers from the Governor.2004, Sjúrður Skaale, The Right to National Self-Determination: the Faroe Islands and Greenland, page 46:

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

US, Informal, Slang Nickname for the Volkswagen 181.

Derived terms: Thingstead, the Althing of Iceland, the People's Thing of Denmark, the Great Thing of Norway, the Law Thing of the Faroes

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