English

thing

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

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    Origin

    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”), Scots hing (“thing”).

    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.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishthing
      • inheritedOld Englishþing
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*þing
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*þingą
            • inheritedProto-Indo-European*tenkóm
              • derivedProto-Indo-European*tenk- “to succeed, turn out well”

    Related: Saterland Frisian Ding, West Frisian ting, Dutch ding, German Low German Ding, German Ding, da,nb,nn,sv ting, Faroese ting, Icelandic þing, Scots hing, Old Norse þing, Danish ting, Swedish ting, Old High German ding

    Words built on it: something, anything, everything, same thing

    Sources