thing

A1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈθiŋ/ UK /ˈθɪŋ/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like sing /θ/ vs /s/ Sounds like ting /θ/ vs /t/

Freq #131

Meanings

1

noun
An object that is not named exactly.

What is that thing on the table?
2

noun
An action, event, or situation.

A funny thing happened on the way home.
3

noun
A fact, idea, or quality being talked about.

The thing I liked most about the book was its ending.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms things

Derived forms anything everything nothingover-thingssomethingtea-thingsthing-in-itselfthingalthingamajigthingerthinghoodthinglike

Related forms theetheedomthingiethingy

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tenk-? Proto-Indo-European *tenkóm Proto-Germanic *þingą Proto-West Germanic *þing Old English þing Middle English thing English thing 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”), Swedish, Danish and Norwegian ting (“thing”), Faroese ting (“parliament, assembly”), Icelandic þing (“congress, assembly”). The word originally meant "assembl…

thing Middle English þing Old English *þing Proto-West Germanic *þingą Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

External links

# thing

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈθiŋ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈθɪŋ/
**Frequency rank:** 131

## Meanings
1. An object that is not named exactly.
2. An action, event, or situation.
3. A fact, idea, or quality being talked about.

## Examples
- What is that thing on the table?
- A funny thing happened on the way home.
- The thing I liked most about the book was its ending.

## Derived Forms
- anything
- everything
- nothing
- over-things
- something
- tea-things
- thing-in-itself
- thingal
- thingamajig
- thinger
- thinghood
- thinglike

## Related Forms
- thee
- theedom
- thingie
- thingy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: thing
- Root: þing
- Root: *þing
- Root: *þingą

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tenk-? Proto-Indo-European *tenkóm Proto-Germanic *þingą Proto-West Germanic *þing Old English þing Middle English thing English thing 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”), Swedish, Danish and Norwegian ting (“thing”), Faroese ting (“parliament, assembly”), Icelandic þing (“congress, assembly”). The word originally meant "assembl…

## AI Etymology
Thing is 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”), Swedish, Danish and Norwegian ting (“thing”), Faroese ting (“parliament, assembly”), Icelandic þing (“congress, assembly”). In present-day use, it can mean an object that is not named exactly, or an action, event, or situation.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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