thangn.
/θaŋ/, U.S. /θæŋ/ colloquial (originally U.S.).
= thing n.1 (in various senses).Originally used in representations of Southern U.S. or African-American speech, but now sometimes without these connotations, especially in writing about popular music.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing
thingeOE
warec1200
beinga1393
matterc1450
body1587
essence1587
entity1596
existence1605
existency1628
existent1635
essency1647
exister1700
beënt1865
thang1932
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > affair, business, concern > [noun]
thingeOE
charec897
cause1393
gleea1400
affaira1425
articlea1425
conversement1455
concernment1495
subject?1541
gear1545
concerning1604
concern1659
interest1674
lookout1795
show1797
pidgin1807
put-in1853
chip1896
thang1932
1932 W. Hogue Back Yonder xxi. 295 I was near four or five rough looking fellows, and one of them said, ‘By jabbers, is that thang a gal er a boy?’
1941 W. A. Percy Lanterns on Levee xx. 259 Negroes..insisted on going to their [flooded] cabins..to see about their ‘thangs’.
1965 Chicago Defender 2 Jan. 10/1 Well, yes. Got a ‘thang’ going on and it is so very mellow.
1971 in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 319/2 You ain' so bad yourself, girl... I want to help a sweet thang like you all I can.
1972 Rolling Stone 6 Jan. 63/5 Dave [i.e. David Bowie] is back, after an affair with heavy! high-energy killer techniques, back into his 1966-ish, Tony Newley/pop-rock thang.
1986 Toronto Star (Nexis) 29 Apr. e1 You've got the Royals, they're a big street gang, and they shuffle 'round Miami and they play that thang.
2004 T. Wolfe I am Charlotte Simmons iii. 76 One thang they know at these Sizzlin' Skillets, they know how to give folks enough to eat.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1932