hang

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To attach something at the top so the rest hangs down freely.

   She hung her coat on the hook by the door.

2. 2
   verb

   To hold on to something tightly.

   Hang on to the rope and don't let go.

3. 3
   verb

   To fall or drape in a particular way.

   This dress hangs beautifully.

4. 4
   verb

   To kill someone by hanging them from a rope around the neck.

   In the past, criminals were sometimes hanged for serious crimes.

Common collocations

• hang a picture Verb + noun
• hang curtains Verb + noun
• hang laundry Verb + noun
• hang up the phone Verb + noun

From Middle English hangen, hongen, from a fusion of Old English hōn (“to hang, be hanging”, transitive verb) and hangian (“to hang, cause to hang”, intransitive verb), respectively from the transitive verb Proto-West Germanic *hą̄han and the intransitive verb *hangēn; also probably influenced by Old Norse hengja (“to suspend”) and hanga (“to be suspended”); all from Proto-Germanic *hanhaną and *hangāną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱenk- (“to waver, be in suspense”). See also Dutch hangen, Low German hangen and hängen, German hängen, Norwegian Bokmål henge, Norwegian Nynorsk henga; also Gothic 𐌷…

Topics