gang

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   An organized group of criminals.

   The police finally broke up the gang that had been robbing local shops.

2. 2
   noun

   A group of young people, often friends, who spend time together.

   The whole gang is coming over to watch the game tonight.

3. 3
   noun

   A group of workers doing the same job under one supervisor.

   A gang of workers was repairing the railway line.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Gang comes from Old Norse gangr or ganga, meaning “gait,” “course,” or “going.” It first meant a journey, then a passage or a set of things that went together; from the early 17th century it was applied to crews and work groups, and subsequently to bands associated with disreputable or criminal activity.

From Middle English gangen, from Old English gangan (“to go, walk, turn out”), from Proto-West Germanic *gangan, from Proto-Germanic *ganganą (“to go, walk”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- (“to step, walk”). Cognate with Scots gang (“to go on foot, walk”), Swedish gånga (“to walk, go”), Faroese ganga (“to walk”), Icelandic ganga (“to walk, go”), Vedic Sanskrit जंहस् (jáṃhas). Ultimately related to Etymology 2, which see below.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary