| 释义 |
thingn.1 Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian thing , ting court, lawsuit, legal principle, thing, object, event (West Frisian ding object, something not specified by name, large or small example of something, something abstract, business, (euphemistic) penis, (plural) affairs in general), Old Dutch thing (Middle Dutch dinc , dync , ding court, jurisdiction, lawsuit, thing in general, occupation, matter, condition, agreement, talk, penis, Dutch ding lawsuit (now obsolete), object, entity, idea, matter, something or somebody not specified by name, genitals, (plural, now regional) clothes, household goods), Old Saxon thing assembly, law court, lawsuit, legal transaction, deed, event, matter, affair, object, thing (Middle Low German dinc , ding court, court-day, meeting, public assembly, conference, negotiation, case, business, matter, possession, event, conditions, something not specified by name, affair, thing, object, (euphemistic) penis), Old High German thing , ding , dinc court, court-day, trial, case, assembly, discussion, meeting, council, thing, matter, object, peculiarity, characteristic, circumstance, position, reason, cause (Middle High German dinc thing, legal or administrative assembly, court, legal case, genitals, German Ding assembly, meeting, court, agreement, unspecified event, action, or state, entity, affair, matter, situation, property, means, possessions, being, unspecified illness, genitals, coitus), Old Icelandic þing assembly, meeting, parliament, council, interview, parish (compare Thing n.2), (plural) belongings, articles, valuables, Norwegian ting (neuter) public assembly, court, parliament, creature, being, (masculine) affair, matter, thing, object, property, Old Swedish þing assembly, meeting for legal proceedings (Swedish ting parliament, court, assembly, thing, object, matter), Old Danish thing , ting (Danish ting (neuter) assembly, court, parliament, (common) thing, object, matter), and further with Gothic þeihs occasion, time, probably ultimately < an extended form of the Indo-European base of classical Latin tempus time (see tempo n.1).With the semantic development of the English word and its cognates, compare that of German Sache , Dutch zaak affair, thing, originally ‘strife, dispute, lawsuit, cause, charge, crime’ (see sake n.1), and French chose , Italian cosa , Spanish cosa thing < classical Latin causa judicial process, lawsuit, cause (see cause n.); compare also classical Latin rēs affair, thing, also ‘a case in law, lawsuit, cause’ (see res n.1). In Old English a strong neuter; the unchanged plural reflecting this declension survives well into the Middle English period (compare quot. a1500 at sense 8a) in southern English and until the present day in Scots, alongside a new analogical plural in -s . The plural thing , ting in Caribbean usage (compare and thing phr. at Phrases 3b) probably rather reflects a more general tendency in Caribbean English to omit plural inflections. The β. forms reflect devoicing of the final plosive, attested sporadically in Old English (although forms such as þincg , þingc are ambiguous), and in this word perhaps favoured by the preceding nasal in the group ng . Attested from the Old English period in place names (in sense 1), as probably e.g. Tingehele , Tingehalle (1086; now Thinghill , Herefordshire), Tingrei (1086; now Tingrith , Bedfordshire), Tingden , Tingdene (1086; now Finedon , Northamptonshire), etc.; in some instances, especially from Danelaw counties and in combination with elements of Scandinavian origin, probably rather reflecting the early Scandinavian cognate. The forms any thing , every thing , no thing , some thing (in which thing is an unemphatic stressless use of sense 8 or 11), are now written each as one word (see anything pron., n., and adv., everything pron., n., and adj., nothing pron., n., adv., and int., something n. and adv.). I. A meeting, or the matter or business considered by it, and derived senses. society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > [noun] OE 18 Þing sceal gehegan frod wiþ frodne; biþ hyra ferð gelic. OE 926 Þonne he frean gesihð ealra gesceafta ondweardne faran mid mægenwundrum mongum to þinge. OE (1932) 157 Swa hie symble ymb þritig þing gehedon nihtgerimes. OE (2008) 426 Ond nu [ic] wið Grendel sceal..ana gehegan ðing wið þyrse. lOE (Rochester) viii. 10 Gif man oþerne sace tihte & he þane mannan mote an medle oþþe an þinge. a1200 Roger of Hoveden II. 233 In quibusdam vero provinciis Anglici vocant lede quod isti [Danes] þinge dicunt; Quod quoque in þinges diffiniri non poterat, ferebatur in schiram. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add.) f. 180 Þey ben sogette to þinges [L. iudicibus] þat þey chesen of hem self from ȝeere to ȝeere þat releueþ þe comunete among hem. †2. the mind > attention and judgement > testing > accusation, charge > [noun] > instance of OE King Ælfred tr. (Paris) (2001) xxxiv. 22 (23) Drihten, min God, aris to minum þinge, and to minre þearfe [L. exsurge et intende iudicio meo Deus meus et Dominus meus in causam meam]. lOE (Domitian A.viii) anno 1050 Ða gernde se eorl griðes & gisla ðæt he mo[ste] hine betellan at æ[l]c ðara ðinga þe him man on lede. lOE (Laud) anno 1022 [He] hine þæs ælces þinges geclænsode þe him mann on sæde. 1469 King Edward IV in (2004) II. 394 Chargeinge yow..to appeare afore the said lords of our councell..there to answeare to such thinges as..by them shall be layde and objected against yow. 1534 T. Cromwell in R. B. Merriman (1902) I. 387 Ye..shall repayre hither to answer unto suche thinges as then shalbe leyed and obiected to you. 1548 f. clj The duke..sufficiently answered to all thynges to hym obiected. 1769 J. Pettingal i. 61 What the Greeks called πραγμα a Cause, the Saxons and Danes called a Thing or litigated Cause; the Lawyers Thingmen, a Judge Thingrave.] the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [noun] OE St. Euphrosyne (Julius) in W. W. Skeat (1900) II. 342 Gif ic nu fare to fæmnena mynstre, þonne secð min fæder me þær, and me þær findað, þonne nimð he me neadunga þanon for mines brydguman þingan. OE (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 47 Þæt wif..geswutulude beforan eallum folce for hwylcum þinge heo hit [sc. hys reafes fnæd] æthran. a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris (1868) 1st Ser. 67 (MED) Forȝefe ȝe þin sunful efenling, luue him for godes þing. c1275 (?c1250) (Calig.) (1935) l. 434 Ech wiht is glad formine [read for mine] þinge. c1330 (?a1300) (Auch.) p. 448 Wiltow fiȝt for mi þing? c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Macc. vi. 24 The sonys of oure peple for this thing [L. propter hoc] alieneden hem fro vs. c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 278 He woolde the see weere kept for any thyng Bitwixen Myddelburgh and Orewelle. a1500 (Rawl.) (1896) 9 Robert was a trew man, and for nothyng wold do thynge wher-of he myght be ther-aftyr reprovid of vntrowth. a1535 T. More (1553) ii. xvi. sig. K.vv Alwaye they thought yt doe it [sc. kyll them selfe] they woulde not for no thing. 1581 J. Marbeck 258 But there present he would not bee for nothing. 1711 J. Greenwood iii. iii. 223 I should have a clearer notion of Quamobrem, if you said it was a Composition of Quam ob rem, i. e. Ob quam rem, for what Thing or Reason. 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian in 2nd Ser. II. xii. 297 ‘He has done that, they say,’ replied Saddletree, ‘for less thing.’ 3. the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > circumstance or circumstances > [noun] the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > [noun] the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > circumstance or circumstances > [noun] > state of affairs or situation the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > affair, business, concern > [noun] eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory (Hatton) (1871) xviii. 129 Sio giornfulnes eorðlicra ðinga abisgað &git [eOE Junius ðæt ondgit]. OE (Mercian) xviii. 19 Si duo ex uobis consenserint super terram de omni re quacumque petierint fiet illis: gif twegen eower geþafigaþ on eorþan be ængum þinge swa hwæs swa he gebiddan geweorþe heom. OE 13 Lufian we hine nu..næs no on gesundum þingum anum, ac eac swylce on wiðerweardum þingum. OE (1932) cviii. 30 He sylfa gestod on ða swyðran hand, þær he þearfendra þinga teolode. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 8954 Ne þatt me birrþ beon hoȝhefull. Abutenn hise þingess? c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 3640 All þiss middell ærdess þing Aȝȝ turrneþþ her & wharrfeþþ. Nu upp nu dun. a1325 (c1250) (1968) l. 2996 To swilc ðing cuðen he non red. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 131 (MED) Whan kyng Edwyn was i-slawe, and þinges [L. rebus] were destourbed, Paulynus wente þennes by water wey in to Kent. c1425 (c1400) l. 2724 That thei with Paris to Grece schulde wende, To brynge this thyng to an ende. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour (St. John's Cambr.) xx. 142 Quhill thai had wit to steir thar thing. 1524 in B. Cusack (1998) 58 Item to mr comptroller for dyuers thyng boȝth for my ladys & oþer charges..xviijli. 1550 in (1891) III. 84 The Lord Admirall desired licence to go into Lincolnshire for a moneth to see his thinges that he had not seen of a long tyme. 1589 G. Puttenham iii. xvi. 154 If ye abase your thing or matter by ignorance or errour in the choise of your word. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. v. 115 You shall heare how things goe. View more context for this quotation 1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán i. 11 These things (I meane your Law-suites) will require a great deale of care. a1625 J. Fletcher (1652) i. i. 4 De G. Well, there is something, Sister. Or. If there be, Brother, 'Tis none of their things, 'tis not yet so monstrous; My thing is Mariage. 1743 J. Bulkeley & J. Cummins 190 He acquainted us, that the Brigadier had order'd Things in another Manner. 1776 S. Foote i. 8 Never fear, things are in a very good way. 1843 C. Dickens (1844) xii. 158 How have things gone on in our absence? 1867 E. A. Freeman I. iv. 252 Things changed greatly in the course of a year. 1901 W. B. Yeats Oct. (1994) III. 117 Come over & help us to stir things up still further. 1955 E. A. Powell xxv. 261 Had things all fixed up to marry the gel secretly, but the priests got wind of it. 1998 Dec. 45/2 Common sense, or the ability to make money, arrange things, and get things done. 1967 9 Nov. 49/1 Few whites are journeying to Harlem for entertainment. ‘It's a black thing now... It's by blacks and for blacks and you don't see many whites up here.’ 1983 M. Mackie v. 150 Similarity provides a basis for shared activities, in this case, doing ‘boy things’ or ‘girl things’. 1991 J. Phillips (1992) 183 I entertain us both with a brief negotiation, not something I care to do, but I know if I don't he'll think I'm a wuss and feel compelled to rip me off. Not his fault. It's a guy thing. 1993 Sept. 80/1 If you're not down with bass style, don't trip on it. It's a Florida thing, you wouldn't understand. 1997 K. O'Riordan ii. 44 I just don't want him to be afraid all the time—... Maybe it's a father thing. 2002 21 Jan. 64/2 The glacial pace of the game [sc. curling] and the central role of sweeping the ice (it's a physics thing) don't help either. 4. the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [noun] > occurrence or event the world > action or operation > doing > a proceeding > [noun] OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius (Vitell.) (1984) xix. 64 Drince [þ]onne fæstende n[igon da]gas, [bin]nan [þ]am fæce þu on[gyt]st on þam wun[d]orlic ðingc. OE (Claud.) ix. 5 Nu to merigen deð Drihten þas þing [L. uerbum istud] on eorðan. OE (Corpus Cambr.) x. 21 An þing þe is wana: gesyle eall þæt ðu age & syle hit þearfum. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Calig.) (1963) 8006 Leofue freond Merling, sæie me of þan þinge þe me to cumen sonden. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Calig.) (1963) 135 Vnder-ȝetene weren þe þinges Þat þeo wimon was mid childe. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Cor. xvi. 14 Be alle ȝoure thingis don in charite. 1449 in (1830) II. Pref. 55 In witnes of which thyng the forseid parties to these endentures chaungeable haue sette her seales. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart II. clxxxvi. f. ccxxxii/2 It was a thyng prepensed by false traytours, to put the realme to trouble. 1574 J. Baret P 730 To Prouide that a thing happen not, præcaueo. 1651 T. Hobbes iii. xl. 252 When two of them Prophecyed in the Camp, it was thought a new and unlawfull thing. 1685 W. Stanley 63 We take care that all these things be performed in a due measure, proportionably to the strength of the Person, and the Nature and Design of the Duty. 1712 R. Steele No. 284. ⁋4 I hate writing, of all Things in the World. ?1768–9 (1771) I. 583/1 He shall find his thoughts so much embarassed and over-charged, by attending at once to so many different things as occur here. 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage I. i. xvii. 164 Have not I done the thing genteelly? 1841 A. Helps On Pract. Wisdom in (1842) 4 Men who have done great things in the world. 1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato (ed. 2) V. 512 Theft is a mean, and robbery a shameless thing. 1930 B. Johnston Let. 1 June in (1998) 47 The best thing you could do would be to park the car and come up to Upper Club. 1958 22 Mar. 1006/1 A hydrogen-bomb war would be an unspeakably terrible thing. 2002 18 July 19/3 There are things happening in Peterborough that might not be happening in Chelsea. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > exaggeration, hyperbole > speak or do with exaggeration [phrase] the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > occupy or engage (a person) [verb (transitive)] > engage in or busy oneself about > be greatly occupied with the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > carry on vigorously [verb (transitive)] > make brisk or active > bring into a specific condition by bustling > treat in fussy manner 1813 J. Austen III. x. 188 It would have been such a thing for me! The quiet, the retirement of such a life, would have answered all my ideas of happiness! View more context for this quotation 1850 8 Aug. It was quite a thing for me to be in Boston and on Bunker Hill, and to see the sea. 1863 M. Oliphant I. xii. 204 Oh, what a thing for me, Arthur, that you are grown up and a man, and able to do what is right in such a dreadful difficulty as this! 1934 E. Waugh ii. 32 I know we aren't going. I'm not making a thing about it. I just thought it might be fun. 1952 E. Grierson (1955) 22 Steady on, Laura... Don't let's make a thing of it. 1954 25 May 3/2 It was quite a thing to be a member of Parliament. 1973 7 Mar. 6/2 President Nixon made something of a thing about reductions in his personal staff. 1993 V. Sage 14 The TV was making a thing of it, interviewing everyone they could find and calling it a concerted wave of néo-nazisme. 1906 ‘H. McHugh’ vii. 94 When it comes to that poetry thing he thinks he can make Hank Longfellow beat it up a tree. 1909 St. J. Lucas iii. xxxiii. 320 I shall have to stay there I suppose; they spoke of giving me a fellowship at Balliol, and of course there is the All Souls thing later on. 1930 9 Nov. ii. 3/7 All of us would like to help a pal in any emergency... But on the ticket thing: Ixnay! Ixnay! 1955 F. O'Connor Let. 18 May in (1980) 82 I will be real glad when this television thing is over with. 1968 T. Wolfe i. 13 Thousands of kids were moving into San Francisco for a life based on LSD and the psychedelic thing. 1982 H. Engel 145 Where have you been? I've been trying to get you since this Miranda thing broke. 2003 Mar. 32/1 There's an FM/MW tuner inside to pick up any slowcoaches who haven't cottoned on to the digital thing yet. the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > a skill > special 1936 G. B. Stern 204 If pottery's your thing. Mountains are not my thing. The sea is my thing. 1951 ‘M. Innes’ vi. vi. 285 Roof-climbing used to be one of my things, rather. 1991 A. Huth 72 You know how it is. I'm not into ironing. It's not my thing. the mind > emotion > fear > fear of particular things > fear a particular thing or things [verb (intransitive)] the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > bias, prejudice > judge prematurely [verb (intransitive)] > feel prejudice 1936 ‘J. Tey’ xix. 201 You got a ‘thing’ about astrology? 1938 D. Smith ii. i. 59 It's one of my things like turning bath-taps off. 1940 N. Mitford ii. 25 I nearly fainted. I can't bear knees, I've got a thing about them. 1967 T. Wolfe in 29 Jan. 6/1 The plainclothes men are beginning to pick up on all that, but they still fog up on the shoes. The heads have a thing about the shoes straight people wear. 1988 G. Swift 80 She was an independent girl with a thing about older..men. 1994 19 June 19/5 Sally Beaumann clearly has a thing for fat books. 2006 (U.K. ed.) Aug. 229/2 I'd had a thing for my friend Jon since I'd met him two years earlier, but because we were part of a group of friends, we'd done nothing more than flirt. the mind > emotion > love > love affair > have affectionate or sexual relationship [verb (intransitive)] 1959 P. D. Cummins tr. D. Dolci (U.S. ed.) 136 One of my pals..found out he was having a thing with a gorgeous blonde. 1967 M. Sharman viii. 77 ‘Are you—er—sort of having a—thing—with Madalena?’.. ‘I'm interested in her,’ he said. ‘But not sexually.’ 1978 ‘R. Lewis’ v. 128 I know Sandy Kyle, had a thing going with her. 2005 J. Weiner xxviii. 238 Phil and Lisa had indeed been having a thing, but it had ended..after Lisa had gotten herself saved at some sort of campus rally and turned her life over to Jesus. 5. the mind > language > speech > [noun] > that which is or can be spoken OE Ælfric Homily (Cambr. Ii.4.6) in J. C. Pope (1967) I. 348 Fela þing he sæde syððan his apostolum, æfter his æriste, þe hi ær ne mihton eaðe understandan. a1225 (c1200) (1888) 71 (MED) Maniȝe gode þinges ðu hafst iherd and ilierned. 1340 (1866) 103 Huanne ich zigge ‘þet þou art ine heuene’, ich zigge tuo þing: þet he is kyng and þet he is at paradis. a1400 (Vesp.) 990/375* In alle thinkez þat þe prophetz han spoken. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 37 Lat hym telle vs of no ribawdye Tel vs som moral thyng. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (1978) l. 1281 Daun Iohn..hath hise thynges [sc. prayers, offices] seyd, ful curteisly. a1480 (c1450) (Peterhouse) (1986) 6 (MED) Y shal ȝeue þe an answere of al þynge þat þou wylt aske of me. a1500 ( in C. Monro (1863) 43 I can not remembre me that ever I wrote to yow any thing that shulde cause my saide lorde of Warrewyk to be thus displesed towardes my personne. 1551 T. Wilson sig. Kiiij This man is no rethoricien, because he cannot place his thynges in good ordre. 1570 T. Wilson tr. Demosthenes iii. 63 That thing which I shall say, though it seeme against the opinion of all men: yet it shal be true for all that. 1638 in (1843) 2 He appointed the day following, to any to object any thing they could say. 1686 tr. J. Chardin 122 The first thing she said to me. 1738 J. Swift 34 I never heard a better Thing. 1772 Misc. Ess. 184/2 This Greek spoke many handsome things of Marseilles, and of our colonies. 1775 A. Adams in J. Adams & A. Adams (1876) 115 I have written many things to you that..I never could have talked. 1812 W. Scott 20 Dec. (1932) III. 205 When you have twenty things to tell it is better to be slatternly than tedious. 1859 G. A. Sala (1861) 132 The people who went about saying things. 1882 Feb. 622/2 If people who write essays about Emerson..would only stop saying fine things about him and tell us what he means. 1909 3 Apr. 13/2 The right thing will say itself—and will say itself with awful precision. 1922 E. von Arnim (1989) 16 ‘She shouldn't say things like that,’ thought Mrs Arbuthnot. ‘The vicar—’ Yet she felt strangely stirred. 1961 J. Carew 38 He was never at a loss for the right thing to say. 2005 A. Smith 37 He says things like well cool, quality, quite dodgy really. the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > idea, notion, or concept > [noun] the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > [noun] > a view, notion, opinion OE Ælfric Homily (Cambr. Ii.4.6) in J. C. Pope (1967) I. 480 Þu eart æðele lareow on Israhela þeode, and ðu þas þing nast? OE tr. Felix (Vesp.) (1909) ii. 109 Þa gelamp sume niht, mid þam þe he com of farendum wege, and he hys þa werigan lima reste, and he menig þing mid his mode þohte, ða wæs he færinga mid godes ege onbryrd. a1300 in C. Brown (1932) 19 (MED) Wanne i ðenke ðinges ðre ne mai hi neure bliðe ben. a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iv. l. 158 Þan þought he þynges tweye. a1500 (c1410) (Hunterian) (1976) i. 274 (MED) Þynke heuenely þingis. 1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger I. i. i. sig. A.j/2 I will..lay foorthe vnto you..those things, which a godly man ought to thinke. 1601 A. Dent 31 A foole beleeueth euery thing, that Copper is Golde, and a Counter an Angell. 1681 132 'Tis a strange sort of thing to believe..that he should fall a damning and sinking against Colledge. 1736 W. Popple v. 71 Tho' I owe you no Justification, that basely can believe so vile a thing of me, yet I owe it to myself. 1762 A. Dickson i. vi. 71 With equal reason, we may infer the same thing of earth. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Dora in (new ed.) II. 35 Mary sat..and thought Hard things of Dora. 1885 ‘F. Anstey’ i. 8 Putting things in the poor girl's head. 1920 Aug. 14/3 Don't think such things. They couldn't put Lafe in a wicked death-chair—they couldn't. 1970 A. K. Armah ix. 228 I was knocked flat hearing that Production Assistant talk about the things he believed. 1991 ‘C. Fremlin’ x. 78 You know, Mum, what Dad's like when he gets things into his head! Worries them to pieces like a terrier. 6. the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s) > something or someone a1382 (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings xiv. 12 Steȝeth vp to vs & wee schul shewen ȝou a thyng. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 14952 (MED) Þai wil me neuer luue, i-wiss, For thing i mai þam tell. 1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville (Caxton) iv. xxv. f. lxxv Neuer ne dyde he body thyng withouten thyn assent. c1500 (1895) 24 I pray you to telle it to me, yf it is thinge that I may knowe. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart II. lxxxvi. [lxxxii.] 255 They neuer dyd thynge that they wolde haue ben gladder. 1598 W. Shakespeare v. i. 138 Shall I tell you a thing ? View more context for this quotation 1664 J. Wilson sig. A4 Nor let the sisters pule,—(I'll tell y' a thing) He may be libb'd, and yet have left, a string. 1678 J. Bunyan i. 142 Ho, turn aside hither, and I will shew you a thing . View more context for this quotation 1831 T. C. Grattan I. iii. 60 I'll tell you a thing, Bishop Zweder; you know as little of the bold candour of chivalry as this English earl does of the guile of priestcraft. 1863 J. S. Le Fanu III. iv. 33 Well, then, Moggy Sullivan and Elizabeth Burke, harkee both, while I tell you a thing. 1939 E. Sheehy 27 ‘Ma, Ma, don't mind that. Let me tell you a thing.’ ‘Don't talk to me. I'm going to bed.’ 1742 H. Fielding II. viii. 236 The sweetest, best-temper'd Boy, who never did a thing to offend me. View more context for this quotation 1844 R. W. Emerson New Eng. Reformers in 2nd Ser. 282 We are shut up in schools, and colleges, and recitation-rooms, for ten or fifteen years, and come out at last with a bag of wind, a memory of words, and do not know a thing. 1881 W. E. Norris I. i. 17 It gave him the jumps to that extent that he couldn't eat a thing afterwards. 1929 R. S. Lynd & H. M. Lynd xx. 330 I can't see that loyalty to the church accomplishes a thing. 1956 M. Dickens x. 182 I haven't done a thing all day, and I'm as tired as a dog. 1992 (Nexis) 18 May 2 d Little annoyances don't mean a thing, not a thing. 2001 Jan. 90/1 The snow..created a wave around me that swept over my head. I couldn't see a thing. 7. colloquial. With the. the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [noun] > the or a prevailing fashion the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > suitability or appropriateness > [noun] > fittingness or propriety > that which is the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > [noun] > seemly behaviour or propriety the world > health and disease > [noun] > good health > fitness 1734 A. Pope iv. 58 Condition, Circumstance is not the thing: Bliss is the same, in Subject or in King. 1752 G. A. Stevens p. x Cæsar had certainly something smart about him: Mark Anthony was a very jemmy Fellow, and Cleopatra quite the Thing to be sure. 1762 O. Goldsmith II. 55 [The silk] is at once rich, tastey, and quite the thing. 1775 F. Burney Jrnl. 3 Apr. in (1990) II. 101 Mr. Bruce was quite the Thing; he addressed himself with great gallantry to us all alternately. 1791 J. Boswell anno 1781 II. 381 [Johnson] Why, Sir, a Bishop's calling company together in this week [sc. Passion Week], is, to use the vulgar phrase, not the thing. 1832 J. Romilly Diary 20 Sept. in (1967) 19 Better today: tho not quite the thing: dined at home. 1845 ‘C. Winterfield’ Adventures on Frontier Texas & Mexico in Nov. 507 Confess it frankly—at even a rough sketch of a hero so exquisitely ‘just the thing’—that the delicious fluttering tumult at your hearts has waked. 1854 C. M. Yonge I. ii. i. 115 And how are you? You don't look quite the thing. 1864 G. Meredith I. xix. 290 Wilfrid took his arm and put it gently down on the chair, saying: ‘You're not quite the thing to-day, sir.’ 1867 15 Jan. 205 Should sorrow o'er thy brow Its darkened shadow fling, Go buy a hat of Jiggles—You'll find it just the thing. 1874 1 June 11/5 Mont Blanc became the thing to do. 1897 12 Jan. 5/1 They are used in the long gold chains which are so pre-eminently the thing. 1901 ‘L. Malet’ v. vii I am not quite the thing this morning. 1912 W. G. Beymer 219 But here's the thing: us scouts risked our lives to deliver those messages. 1921 16 Sept. 6/1 It is evident to all hands that our bugle squad is about ‘the’ thing. They have all sorts of ‘pep’ and are delivering the goods. 1952 M. Kennedy 6 He seems to have been very much the thing, an M.P. and all that, went everywhere, knew everybody, and cut quite a dash. 1986 P. Leigh Fermor (1988) v. 112 ‘She's not feeling quite the thing,’ the Count said. 1993 L. Colwin xxiii. 118 Every once in a while an old-fashioned picnic is just the thing. 2005 Jan. 241/3 Ponchos are the thing to wear in bird-world this season. the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > be or become true [verb (intransitive)] > be the case 1748 S. Richardson V. x. 55 But here's the thing;—I have given her cause enough of offence, but not enough to make her hold her tongue. 1787 July 304/1 The Grand Messiah chiefly we will sing, Thy tunes bring home the test, and that's the thing. 1818 T. Moore (1856) VIII. 248 Saleability is the thing with the booksellers. 1850 W. M. Thackeray II. xxxvii. 364 But he has got the rowdy, which is the thing. 1873 M. Arnold Pref. p. xi The question [of a state church]..is..so absolutely unimportant! The thing is, to recast religion. 1892 J. A. Symonds (1899) I. vi. x. 290 The thing about Michel Angelo is this: he is not..at the head of a class, he stands apart by himself. 1909 Nov. 857/1 But here's the thing: us scouts risked our lives to deliver those messages. 1915 J. Galsworthy xxiv. 250 Look here, old man, the thing is, of course, to see it in proportion. 1959 D. Lessing 19 You see, the thing is, people have no imagination. You've got to rub their nose in it. 1971 C. Bonington xiv. 175 I think the thing is that we want to start pushing out the route as fast as possible because the faster we can push the route out the less oxygen we need to use. 1978 R. Yates iii. 59 And he was sort of smiling at me—that's the thing; if he hadn't been smiling I wouldn't have said it. 1986 D. J. Steffensmeier viii. 171 Here's the thing, even your good thief spends money something fierce—easy come, easy go. 2007 J. Mansell xxxiii. 233 The thing is, you call them beautiful girls in bikinis. I call them a bunch of old slappers. II. An entity of any kind. 8. That which exists individually (in the most general sense, in fact or in idea); that which is or may be in any way an object of perception, knowledge, or thought; an entity, a being. (Including persons, in contexts where personality is not significant.) the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius (Otho) xxxiii. 76 Þonne þa fif þing..eall gegadorede bioð, þonne bið hit eall an þing, & þæt an ðing bið God. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 1839 Niss nani þing þatt muȝhe ben Wiþþ godd off efenn mahhte. c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall (1920) I. 216 (MED) Wer-bi we moue hatie þo ileke þinges þet he hatedh..and luuie þo ilek þinkes þat he luued. a1300 (?OE) Royal Charter: Edward the Confessor to Church of St. Benet of Holme (Sawyer 1055) in J. Conway Davies (1960) 83 On eallweldandes drihtnes namen þe ealle þing geworhte and him seluum to anwelde hyld, and seld þam þe his willa is. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 695 Ilkin thing, on serekin wise Ȝeld til adam þar seruise. a1425 (c1395) (Royal) (1850) Psalms cxlviii. 6 He seide, and thingis weren maad; he comaundide, and thingis weren maad of nouȝt [L. quia ipse dixit, et facta sunt: ipse mandavit, et creata sunt]. ?a1450 (?c1400) (Lamb.) (1901) 35 Þer ys but O god in trinite... This god is most myȝty þyng þat may be. a1500 (?a1425) Antichrist (Peniarth) in R. M. Lumiansky & D. Mills (1974) I. App. 499 (MED) All thinge I made thrugh my myght, son and mone, day and nyght. 1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iv, in 264/1 The fire can..burne al combustible thinges that it may towch. 1549 H. Latimer (new ed.) 5th Serm. sig. Ri All thynges are solde for mony [printed many] at rome. 1594 sig. A3v He knowes not what it is to be a King, That thinks a scepter is a pleasant thing. 1600 W. Shakespeare v. v. 56 Presume not that I am the thing I was. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton ii. 921 To compare Great things with small. View more context for this quotation 1732 G. Berkeley I. i. xi. 39 A Man of parts is one thing, and a Pedant another. 1788 J. Milner in M. Milner (1842) iv. 44 Regencies are generally turbulent things. 1818 J. Keats i. 3 A thing of beauty is a joy for ever. 1843 J. S. Mill I. i. iii. §5 What is an action? Not one thing but a series of two things: the state of mind called a volition, followed by an effect. 1880 T. Hardy v. 44 The triangular situation—himself, his wife, Lucy Savile—was the one clear thing. 1906 E. Wharton 14 Aug. (1988) 107 We found Auvergne, in some respects, the most interesting thing we had seen in France. 1936 C. Day Lewis vi. 80 That was one thing which had not died on her—the love of birds. 1990 A. N. Wilson v. 87 Their friendship had remained a thing of pure neighbourliness, without blossoming into any sort of spiritual or intellectual intimacy. the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > [noun] > a property, quality, or attribute OE 13 Þa wæs heo on eallum þingum þe eaþmoddre. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris (1873) 2nd Ser. 15 Ðre þing ben þat elch man habben mot..þat on is rihte bileue, þat oðer is fulohtninge, þe þridde þe faire liflode. 1340 (1866) 194 Þe oþer þing þet behoueþ ine elmesse is, þet me hit do zone and hasteliche. a1400 (a1325) (Gött.) l. 292 In þe sune..Es a thing and thre thinges sere; A bodi round, hote, and light, Þir thre we find all at a sight. ?1520 A. Barclay tr. Sallust xxxvi. f. 50 Their ennemies myght lytell thyng preuayle agaynst them. 1558 J. Knox f. 26 Augustine defineth ordre to be that thing, by the whiche God hath appointed and ordeined all thinges. 1627 M. Drayton Moone-calfe in 165 In euery thing she must be monstrous: Her Picadell aboue her crowne vp-beares; Her Fardingale is set aboue her eares. c1660 J. Evelyn anno 1644 (1955) II. 235 The whit[e]nesse & smothnesse of the excellent pargeting was a thing I much observed. 1724 J. Scrope Let. 10 Apr. in I. Newton (1977) VII. 272 Depute some person..to inspect and see that the said Coynage be in all things conformable to the said Patent. 1825 E. Bulwer-Lytton 8 I could wish..that this simile were in all things correct. 1867 M. E. Herbert iii. 93 The most curious thing about this fountain is the irregular flow of the water. 1937 Mar. 48/2 Another thing wrong with a great many baby showers, besides the sameness of the gifts, is the sameness of the party itself. 1960 J. Barth ii. xxvii. 408 The surest thing about Justice, Truth, and Beauty is that they live not in the world, but as transcendent entities. 2002 (Air Canada) July 77/1 The only thing fancy about the school where I ended up was its name. the mind > language > naming > anonymity or lack of a name > [noun] > thing or person whose name is forgotten or unknown the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing > something > a something a1325 (?c1300) (Cambr. Gg.1.1) l. 275 Angeles let him þer se Moni tokninges of priuete..þar he sachȝ manie a selkouȝ þing. c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 435 Bynethe my buttok ther shaltow fynde A thyng that I haue hyd in pryuetee. a1450 (a1401) (Bodl.) (1957) 169 (MED) Þe firste is clepid a corporal vision..whanne any bodili þing bi þe ȝift of god is shewid to a mans bodili siȝt. 1603 W. Shakespeare i. i. 19 What hath this thing appear'd againe to night. 1717 J. Gay iii. 71 Let him come in. One of my Retale Indian Merchants, I suppose, that always brings me some odd Thing. 1807 W. Wordsworth To Cuckoo iv, in II. 58 No Bird; but an invisible Thing, A voice, a mystery. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Walking to Mail in (new ed.) II. 48 ‘Yes, we're flitting,’ says the ghost, (For they had pack'd the thing among the beds). 1893 R. L. Stevenson xv. 173 Wi' the bang and the skirl the thing had clean disappeared. 1920 E. Wharton ii. xxiii. 236 He drew out a note-case and one of the new stylographic pens. ‘I've even got an envelope... There—steady the thing on your knee, and I'll get the pen going in a second.’ 1991 R. R. McCammon iii. ii. 223 That thing got on my roof last night and neither me nor Ellen could sleep a wink for all the racket it was makin'! The thing even did its business all over my car! the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing > as distinct from attributes or other entities 1817 S. T. Coleridge I. xii. 267 An infinite independent thing, is no less a contradiction, than an infinite circle or a sideless triangle. 1821 Ld. Byron (2nd issue) v. i. 142 True words are things, And dying men's are things which long outlive, And oftentimes avenge them. 1862 H. Spencer i. iii. §15. 47 While, on the hypothesis of their objectivity, Space and Time must be classed as things, we find, on experiment, that to represent them in thought as things is impossible. 1884 tr. H. Lotze 58 The doctrine of Kant, who represented the relation of a thing to its property, or of substance to its accident, as the model upon which the mind connects S and P in the categorical judgment. 1910 Christie in Feb. 194 ‘Things’..are, as Lotze tried to show, but the activities of the One everlasting Spirit. 1972 33 199 The issue as to whether things are something ‘over and above’ their properties, or are simply ‘bundles’ of properties. the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > quality of being horrible > [noun] > person or thing which inspires horror the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > malignant monster > [noun] > types of 1822 Ld. Byron Heaven & Earth i. iii, in 1 177 Thou..awful Thing of Shadows, speak to me! 1888 R. Kipling (1891) 64 The burning-ghât, where a man was piling logs on some Thing that lay wrapped in white cloth. 1896 B. Mitford xxvii. 274 The fearful Thing..shoggled away in the direction whence it had come. 1954 L. M. Boston 126 The Thing..gave a silent yell... Then it went fumbling round the room. 1973 ‘B. Mather’ i. 7 I find The Thing hard to take. He's blind,..he can only make mewing noises, and he has no legs and only one arm. 1991 Jan. 34/2 A tube would be passed down my throat into my lung to get as close as possible to the Thing. 1868 L. M. Alcott I. iv. 66 She drew a picture of Mr. Davis, with..the words ‘Young ladies, my eye is upon you!’ coming out of his mouth in a balloon thing. 1932 21 Dec. 692 (caption) Look, Henry, I've just discovered a funny lever thing. I wonder if it works a secret panel somewhere. 1979 B. Bainbridge iv. 44 I'm making a rice thing for lunch. 1998 (Nexis) 5 Aug. Lexus has a new wagon, er, sport-utility truck, er, thing. the world > plants > [noun] eOE (Royal) (1865) i. lxxii. 146 Blodlæs is to forganne fiftyne nihtum ær hlafmæsse..forþon þonne ealle æterno þing fleogaþ & mannum swiðe deriað. OE Ælfric (Claud.) vii. 22 Ælc ðingc ðe lif hæfde wearð adyd on ðam deopan flode. a1250 in C. Brown (1932) 4 Godes riche..þer ne mei..non liuiinde þing woc þer nis ne ȝeomer. c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Otho) l. 12804 He saide þat þar was icome a luþer þing to londe..a wel loþliche feond. 1372 in E. Wilson (1973) 26 (MED) Man is but a frele þing Fro þe time of is genning. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 385 (MED) Alkin things grouand sere..in þam self þaire seding bere. tr. Palladius (Duke Humfrey) (1896) i. 935 For eddris, spritis, monstris, thyng of drede. 1556 J. Heywood i. 2 What time euery growing thinge That ripeth by roote, hath liuely taken hart. 1580 J. Frampton tr. N. Monardes Bk. Medicines agaynst Venome in (new ed.) f. 138 Least any venomous thing fall therein, as spyders. 1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas i. ii. 71 Noah..sau'd a seed-pay'r of all liuing things. 1667 J. Milton ix. 194 When all things that breath,..send up silent praise To the Creator. View more context for this quotation 1708 J. Oldmixon I. 93 Of Creeping things, besides those in common with other Places on the Continent of America, the Rattle-snake is the most noted and dangerous. 1796 J. Aikin & A. L. Barbauld VI. 125 Where it [sc. heat] most prevails,..nature is most replenished with all sorts of living and growing things. 1820 P. B. Shelley i. i. 34 I wish no living thing to suffer pain. 1858 G. Glenny (new ed.) 120/1 Nemophila, Coreopsis, and other free-growing things. 1905 F. Treves ii. xvii. 115 A common of worn earth from which a million feet have scuffed whatever living thing has grown upon it. 1920 E. Wharton 26 Dec. (1988) 437 My terraces were just beginning to be full of bursting sprouting things. 1981 N. Bawden (1993) iii. 117 Andrew is frightened of maggots and crawling things and of being shut in. 2004 12 Apr. 38/1 On Earth, most methane..comes from living things, such as the microbe-rich goop in swamps. 10. Used of a human being or person. Cf. creature n. 2a, 2c. the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun] > held in contempt the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > condition of being held in contempt > [noun] > state or quality of being contemptible > contemptible person OE Ælfric Old Test. Summary: Kings (Julius) in W. W. Skeat (1881) I. 406 Þa het Hieu him to gebringan þæra æðelinga heafdu ealle þæs on mergen, and he acwealde siððan ælc þincg ðæs cynnes. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Calig.) (1963) l. 139 Witen he wolde..wat þing hit were þat þeo wimon hefde on wombe. 1598 W. Shakespeare iii. iii. 115 Go you thing, go. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. ii. 56 Reuenge it on him, (for I know thou dar'st) But this Thing dare not. View more context for this quotation 1631 Bp. J. Hall (ed. 2) (2nd state) §cxxx What can wee make of this thing (Man I cannot call him)? 1691 J. Dunton III. i. 16 He [sc. Mark Antony] lost the World for a Cleopatra, a Woman, a thing in Petticoats. 1758 Lady M. W. Montagu 8 Nov. (1967) III. 187 By what accident they have fallen into the hands of that thing Dodsley I know not. 1860 J. L. Motley I. ii. 37 To accept the sovereignty of a thing like Henry of Valois. 1928 W. Deeping xix. 215 To them she was not a fastidious, self-created, individual woman, but a thing in petticoats, a pair of hands, a pair of legs. the world > people > person > [noun] > as having character or qualities c1225 (?c1200) (Bodl.) (1981) 10 (MED) Se ȝung þing as ha wes, hwet hit mahte geinin þah heo hire ane were aȝein se kene keiser? c1275 (?c1250) (Calig.) (1935) 1335 (MED) Þu liest iwis, þu fule þing. c1300 St. Lucy (Laud) 150 in C. Horstmann (1887) 105 Ȝwan he ne miȝhte þis clene þing [sc. St Lucy] ouer-come mid al is lore. c1330 (?a1300) (Auch.) (1973) 6482 Þe kinges steward..wedded þat swete þing. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 7285 Samuel..was a selcuth dughti thing, Þe first þat smerld man to king. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 2077 (MED) O caym, þe cursd..Fle me fra, þou wared thing. a1500 (?a1475) (Cambr. Ff.2.38) 26 A may ȝynge, The Erlys doghtur, a swete thynge. 1533 J. Heywood sig. Diiii A goodly dame an ydyll thynge iwys. 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus f. 241v Augustus beeyng yet a young thyng vnder mannes state. a1568 R. Ascham (1570) i. f. 14v If he be bashefull, and will soone blushe, they call him a babishe and ill brought vp thyng. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. v. 117 But that I see thee heere Thou Noble thing, more dances my rapt heart, Then when I first my wedded Mistris saw. View more context for this quotation 1689 A. Behn (1871) I. 70 The worst-natur'd, incorrigible, thing in the world. 1711 R. Steele No. 4. ⁋5 At a Play..looking..at a young thing in a Box before us. 1727 D. Defoe iv. 43 I don't wonder such as these go a mobbing among those meanest of mad Things call'd Free-Masons. 1758 S. Johnson 8 July 105 My Wife often tells me, that Boys are dirty things. 1797 R. M. Roche (ed. 2) III. iii. 126 Poor thing, she is going fast indeed, and the more's the pity, for she is a sweet creature. 1839 C. Dickens xxvii. 258 Why don't you go and ask them to walk up, you stupid thing? 1874 J. G. Holland xii. 56 Change That would degrade her to a thing Of homely use and household care. 1898 F. Montgomery 12 The very smallest and youngest thing that had ever worn an Eton jacket. 1927 I. Gershwin Sweet So-and-So (song) in (1993) 125/1 You darling, you ducky, you sweet so-and-so! You sweet thing, you neat thing, you've set me a-glow! 1992 B. Anderson (1993) iv. 67 To think that a son of Nelson's could get any girl into trouble, least of all a nice little thing like Sarah. 2003 7 June (Midlands ed.) 92/3 The poor thing is much too shy and gauche to deal with their predatory wiles. 11. the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing > something the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > thing or material object the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > matter or corporeal substance > a kind of matter OE 91 On þæm dæge gewiteþ heofon & eorþe, & sæ, & ealle þa þing þe on þæm syndon. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 18825 Þatt arrke þatt iss wrohht off tre..iss whilwendlike þing. ?c1335 in W. Heuser (1904) 103 Þe tren sul blede..Þe þing þat bodi no flesse naþ non. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 9383 Al-king thing was þan to trow Wel pithier þan þai ar now. a1400 tr. Lanfranc (Ashm.) (1894) 141 Woundis..maad wiþ a swerd or wiþ sum dinge ellis þat woundiþ. 1547 J. Hooper viii. H vij Mens yeyes be obedient unto the creatour that they may se on think and yet not a nother. 1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid i. f. 6v Thinges equall to one and the selfe same thyng: are equall also the one to the other. c1595 Capt. Wyatt in G. F. Warner (1899) 16 Leavinge behinde us certaine letters inclosed in a thinge of wood provided of purpose. 1658 E. Phillips Fends, things hung over a Ships side to keep another Ship from rubbing against it. 1719 D. Defoe 270 A three Corner'd..Thing, like..a Shoulder of Mutton Sail. 1757 W. Provoost Let. 25 Aug. in (1956) II. 659 Please to send me the following things Vizt. 1 Dozen of Black mitts. 1 piece of Black Durant fine. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Vision of Sin in (new ed.) II. 217 Callest thou that thing a leg? 1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato (ed. 2) III. 509 Stones and shells and things of earth and rock. 1904 M. E. W. Freeman 28 ‘How much do you s'pose that thing cost?’ says I. Then I saw she had left the tag on. 1940 A. M. Lindbergh Diary 24 June in (1980) 117 Both the men are so attentive, jumping up to shut doors lest I catch cold, rushing to pick up things I drop. 1994 M. Gee (1996) i. 16 The thing was antique and carved with leaves and bunches of grapes. 2001 C. Glazebrook 69 My hand finds a little wooden thing, about the size of a packet of tabs. the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > [noun] eOE (Royal) (1865) ii. xxiii. 210 Oþre wætan [read hwætene] metegearwa & cocnunga ealle sint to forbeodanne & eal þa wætan þing & þa smerewigan & osterhlafas & eall swete þing... Ge, þa scearpan afran þing sint to fleonne. 1340 (1866) 96 (MED) Þe tyeres weren uour wel preciouses þinges..þet of his preciouse lemes yourne, þet weren tyeares, zuot, weter, and blod. c1400 (?c1380) (1920) 819 Loth þenne..his men amonestes mete for to dyȝt, ‘Bot þenkkez on hit be þrefte what þynk so ȝe make, For wyth no sour ne no salt seruez hym neuer.’ a1450 Dis. Women (Sloane) in B. Rowland (1981) 92 (MED) And suche thingis þat ben good herefore ys gallia muscata, muske, xilocassie. c1503 R. Arnold f. xxxij/2 Yf ony persone caste or put ony Rubyes dunge..or ony other noyos thinge in thamys at walbrok. c1540 (?a1400) (2002) f. 120 Þai wold stuf hom full stithly..With mete..& mony othir thynges. 1589 J. Chilton in R. Hakluyt iii. 590 Annele..is a kinde of thing to dye blew withall. 1631 R. Byfield 204 We drinke some warme thing. 1694 W. Salmon i. vi. 197/1 It..is a most excellent thing in Feavers. 1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Antiq. Jews xi. viii, in tr. Josephus 354 Accused by those at Jerusalem of having eaten things common. a1756 E. Haywood (1771) 44 It is a very good thing to thicken gravy with. 1839 Countess of Blessington I. 154 Plying their professional skill on cutlets, poulets, entrees and entrements, with vegetables and sweet things in abundance. 1884 4 Oct. 655/2 The best thing to apply to a burned or scalded part is Carron oil spread on lint. 1969 24 July 17/6 They [sc. children] want to eat savoury things most of all. 2005 7 Nov. 29/1 A lecture on how dope impairs concentration and learning, and may not be the best thing for the lungs. the world > life > the body > sex organs > [noun] c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 121 Oure bothe thynges smale Was eek to knowe a femelle from a male. a1500 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker (1884) I. 632 Menticula, a mane hys thyng. ?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in (1998) I. 51 I..leit neuer enter in my thoght that he my thing persit. 1612 B. Jonson v. i. sig. L2 The Boy of six yeare old with the great thing . View more context for this quotation 1700 G. Farquhar iv. ii. 40 Lure. And what shall I give you for such a fine thing. Wild. You'll give me another, you'll give me another fine thing. 1740 iii. 30 Coming between my Legs with his Breeches and Drawers down, and his Thing stiff and red, he was just going to try to enter me, when we heard the Key turn in the Door. ?1837 21 I did cling to the hair of her thing. 1865 in T. P. Lowry (1994) xii. 124 [He] said he wanted to see what she had for a thing; he then put his foot on her leg, pulled up her dress and threw a [flaming] torch between her legs. 1930 S. Parker tr. W. Stekel I. 263 I had wished to kill him because I did not wish him to put his thing in. 1955 J. P. Donleavy vi. 51 Men wagging their things at you from doorways. Disgusting. 1970 T. Southern ii. viii. 98 So I began kissing her,..and caressing her—her sides and hips, and legs..and finally, her thing. 1999 R. T. Davies Episode 1. 15 He says, I can see your thing... Next thing you know, he's wanking me off behind the pub in broad daylight. 12. the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > a person's collective property or substance OE Ælfric (Royal) (1997) xxii. 357 Ne heora nan næfde synderlice æhta, ac him eallum wæs gemæne heora þing. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 4520 Þatt tu nan oðerr manness þing Ne ȝeorne nohht to winnenn. a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) 263 in R. Morris (1868) 1st Ser. 175 (MED) Þis is þet fur..Þer inne boð..Þe þet is oðers monnes þing loure þene hit sculde. a1325 (c1250) (1968) l. 3378 He let bi-aften de more del To kepen here ðing al wel. c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) l. 10196 Persones þing he solde men þat mest wolde þeruore ȝiue. c1390 in C. Horstmann (1892) i. 347 Ffor he wolde haue offryng And liue bi oþur mennes þing. a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil (1959) vi. xiv. 94 That art ful myghty bot of litil thing. the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property > personal belongings OE Ælfric (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxxiv. 291 Þæt wæron hundeahtatig muneca..and him eallum wæron heora ðing gemæne, æfter regollicere gesetnysse ne hi naht synderlices næfdon. OE (1991) 34 Uis uendere res tuas hic sicut emisti illic? : wilt þu syllan þingc þine her ealswa þu hi gebohtest þær? c1230 (?a1200) (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 213 Ne wite ȝe in ower hus of oðer monne þinges, ne ahte, ne claðes. c1300 Holy Cross (Laud) 459 in C. Horstmann (1887) 14 Mid þat gold and þe riche þingues þat he fond al-so þere Þe churchene..þare-with he liet a-rere. ?1387 T. Wimbledon (Corpus Cambr.) (1967) 92 (MED) He..bryngeþ forþ fals wittenesse and occupieþ dede mennys þyngis [v.r. goodis]. 1481 W. Caxton tr. (1893) xlv. 85 They had born theder alle theyr thynges. a1500 (a1460) (1897–1973) 54 Where ar oure thyngis, ar thay past Iordan? 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane f. cxixv The parson and vicar wyll haue for a mortuary..the best thynge that is about the house. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay i. v. f. 4 The Mariners lost the most part of theyr apparrel, & things. 1603 R. Knolles 599 Busie in packing vp his things against his departure. 1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. J. Albert de Mandelslo 17 in We..went..to the Custome House to have our things search'd by the Officers there. 1759 S. Johnson 23 Mar. (1992) I. 184 I have this day moved my things, and you are now to direct to me at Staple Inn. 1766 W. Blackstone II. ii. 16 The objects of dominion or property are things, as contradistinguished from persons: and things are by the law of England distributed into two kinds; things real, and things personal. 1841 Mrs. Mozley II. xxi. 154 They will come and search the house, and all our things will be turned upside down. 1841 H. J. Stephen I. 157 Things real are usually said to consist in lands, tenements, or hereditaments. 1858 H. J. Stephen (ed. 4) I. 168 Things personal, (otherwise called personalty). 1866 A. Trollope III. iv. 114 She packed up all her things. 1919 Mar. 308/3 We quietly put our things together and tried to slip away, because by this time we did not feel so sure of the venture. 1930 43 761 As to things that are juris privati, he divides them into the well known classification of things personal and things real. 1995 A. Tyler xix. 275 I can get my things myself, if you'll just pop the trunk. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > [noun] the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > for specific purpose > going out 1605 P. Erondelle i. sig. D8v Where be all my thinges? goe fetch my cloathes. 1634 W. Wood i. xii. 50 A long coarse coate, to keepe better things from the pitched ropes and plankes. 1690 J. Crowne ii. 11 Now I think on't I'll go to Court, put on your things again. 1713 E. Budgell in 23 Mar. 1/2 I know every part of their Dress, and can name all their Things by their Names. 1748 S. Richardson V. xviii. 174 But having her things on, as the women call every-thing,..she thought it best to go. a1777 S. Foote (1778) i. 23 I have had but just time to huddle on my things. 1833 T. Hook II. viii. 156 Take off your things—and we will order..tea. 1848 E. C. Gaskell I. ix. 151 He sat down by the fire in his wet things, unheeding. 1885 ‘F. Anstey’ vi. 66 ‘I haven't bought my winter things yet,’ said Matilda. 1902 R. Bagot viii. 100 Diana left the room to put on her things for driving. 1926 J. C. Lincoln iii. 49 Better take off your things, hadn't you? 2000 V. Routledge in J. Adams et al. 399 Maura pulled off her things without looking at herself or Debbie. society > occupation and work > equipment > [noun] the mind > possession > supply > [noun] > that which is supplied > that with which anything is equipped > equipment or accoutrements the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means > equipment for any action or undertaking 1662 Duchess of Newcastle Matrimonial Trouble ii. v. xlv, in 487 (stage direct.) The Servants take away all the meat and things, and after all was gone Enter two Maid-Servants. 1697 J. Vanbrugh iii. 25 Here; take away the things: I expect Company. 1738 in J. Colville (1907) 154 For mending the Kitchen things. 1748 L. Pilkington I. 69 The Things being taken away; ‘Now good Sir, said I, tell me what I do amiss?’ 1844 tr. M. T. Asmar II. 304 With the breakfast things the waiter brought the morning paper. 1891 C. T. C. James 156 I hadn't any proper hunting things. 1898 G. B. Shaw Man of Destiny in 160 Clearing the table and removing the things to a tray on the sideboard. 1912 G. K. Chesterton i. iii. 86 Diana Duke..began putting away the tea things. 1974 H. Secombe 75 ‘I've finished anyway,’ he said, gathering up his toilet things. 2004 3 May 96/2 He put an order to it all, as he had done with the things on the table—the dishes and food in mouseproof cannisters on the table beside the icebox. society > leisure > the arts > the arts in general > [noun] > work of art OE Byrhtferð (Ashm.) (1995) iii. iii. 162 Swa þas þing synd gesette þe man nemð Ylias and Odissia Omeri and Eneidos Virgilii. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Cor. xiii. 10 I, absent, write this thing. c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) 327 Ther to he [sc. the Sergeant of the Law] koude endite and make a thyng. c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) l. 70 Herknynge his Mynstrals hir thynges pleye. 1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo (1586) i. 17 b Yt they haue imploied all their time in reading some good thing or other. 1589 G. Puttenham iii. xxii. 216 One of our late makers, who in most of his things wrote very well. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. ii. 67 You would haue them alwaies play but one thing . View more context for this quotation 1732 J. Swift Let. 12 June in A. Pope (1741) II. 123 I have a thing in prose, begun above twenty-eight years ago, and almost finish'd. 1831 213/2 A dozen things of Handel's;..some things of Avison's, one of the poorest of musicians. 1913 H. James 14 Sept. (1920) II. 332 Scribner's (or Macmillan's) collective and revised and prefaced edition of my things. 1996 T. Parker iii. 109 His things'd always had a great effect on me:..they coincided with my own experiences and reactions like nothing else I ever read. the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing > as opposed to a symbol or imitation the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > relation to something or reference > that which is referred to the mind > language > linguistics > semantics > reference > [noun] > referent a1477 (Oriel 79(2)) (1882) 343 His [sc. Chaucer's] longage was so feyre and pertinent, That semed vnto mennys heryng, Not only the worde, but verrely the thing. 1483 (2005) VI. 208/2 That the deane..and chanons..be oon body corporate in thyng and name. 1533 J. Frith sig. Giij But the thinge it selfe, whose sacrament thys is, is receyued. 1534 T. More Treat. Passion in 1332/2 The thyng of a sacrament is properly called that holye thinge that the sacrament betokeneth. a1626 F. Bacon (1630) 93 This ambiguitie..is when one name and appellation doth denominate divers things, and the second, is when the same thing is called by divers names. 1663 S. Butler i. 1. 61 [Bear-baiting] is an Antichristian Game, Unlawful both in thing and name. 1707–8 G. Berkeley (1989) 79 The supposition that things are distinct from Ideas takes away all real truth. 1725 I. Watts i. iv. §1 The World is fruitful in the Invention of Utensils of Life, and new Characters and Offices of Men, yet Names entirely new are seldom invented; therefore old Names are almost necessarily us'd to signify new Things. 1827 J. Robinson (ed. 2) x. p. lxiii The philosophy of Aristotle is rather the philosophy of words than of things. 1850 Ld. Tennyson lxxiii. 102 What practice howsoe'er expert In fitting aptest words to things..Hath power to give thee as thou wert? View more context for this quotation 1870 J. R. Lowell 15 Oct. (1894) II. 74 As to words, I am something of a purist, though I like best the word that best says the thing. a1933 J. A. Thomson (1934) I. xiii. 281 Many of them suffer from physogastry, an ugly word for an ugly thing. 1968 J. Lyons i. 15 The principles whereby the word, as a ‘sign’, was related on the one hand to the human intellect and on the other to the thing it represented, or ‘signified’. 2004 106 73 Paulhan's Terrorist-Rhetorician debate turns on the radical split between word and thing or idea, form and content, sign and meaning, signifier and signified. the world > life > source or principle of life > absence of life or consciousness > [noun] > that which is lifeless or inanimate 1589 G. Puttenham iii. xix. 198 We do sodainly flye out & either speake or exclaime at some other person or thing..as..a louer to his vnkind mistresse. 1648 T. Hill 31 We..use Pictures for a while, till we get apprehension of the thing or person realized to us, then throw them away. 1690 W. Temple Ess. Anc. & Mod. Learning in (1731) I. 302 Things..such as have been either of general Use or Pleasure to Mankind. 1729 W. Law iv. 47 Things..are all to be used according to the will of God. 1790 F. Grose (ed. 2) Whitherer, a lusty, strong, or stout person, or thing. 1841 C. Dickens iii. 249 Consideration of persons, things, times, and places. 1850 T. T. Lynch viii. 149 ‘He that getteth a wife getteth a good thing’; that is at least, if his wife be more than a thing. 1853 F. D. Maurice xvi. 279 The human being was sacrificed; the person was given up for the thing. 1939 Z. N. Hurston xvii. 162 Moses was amazed that the writhing serpent on the ground could have become so quickly the lifeless thing in his hands. 1985 O. Imasogie (ed. 2) ii. 14 Tylor's theory was that the primitive man thought the anima was capable of leaving the one body for another, be it animal, person or thing. 2007 (Nexis) 9 Jan. 4 Another [suggestion] was that the pouch in question was not a thing but a person named Pouch. 16. colloquial. = thingummy n.the mind > language > naming > anonymity or lack of a name > [noun] > thing or person whose name is forgotten or unknown > after a title 1839 F. Marryat II. xiii. 242 The clerk of the office inquired of him [sc. Mr. Whitepimple] what other name he would have, and he..replied carelessly,..‘Oh, any thing;’ whereupon the clerk enrolled him as Mr. Thing.] 1858 H. C. Jenkin III. ix. 188 No, no, indeed,—just to let you get that Miss Thing out of the way. 1882 May 926/1 Old Mr. Thing, passin' by on his way from town, stopped with a box outen the express office. 1909 A. Bierce IV. 202 'Tis right if he goes dining at The Pup With Mrs. Thing. 1960 ‘R. East’ xiv. 136 Old Mrs. Thing at the exchange may listen in. 1977 M. Kenyon vi. 70 Keane could not remember the name of..the colonel. Too many names. Colonel Thing. 1999 J. Burchill ix. 133 Is this Siobhan any relation whatsoever to Siobhan O'Thing, the teenaged mannequin of your acquaintance? 1922 P. B. Kyne xxxvi. 265 Man, man, I want it—a thing—a what-you-may-call-'em—a—Oh, the devil! 1943 F. MacManus i. 21 Or is there anything wrong with the what-you-may-call-um, the thing, O you know, the fuse? 1961 N. Coward 17 Mar. (2000) 467 He tottered off to the loo and came back a few minutes later minus his plate, which he had dropped down the ‘thing’ while he was being sick. 2004 A. Sileika 303 Josephine was fumbling with the clasp of her skirt. ‘Oh damn, I can't reach the thing. Unhitch me, will you?’ 2000 A. Sorkin (transcribed from TV programme) 2nd Ser. Episode 5 Did you know ‘leaf peeping’ was a thing? 2012 (Usenet newsgroup) 12 Apr. (title of posting) No Show Conference! It's a thing! 2013 15 Sept. 40/4 He had his goons arrest them accusing them of ‘hooliganism’. Is that even a thing? 2015 (National ed.) 28 May b6/1 The bet that [they]..made at the time was that smartphones are going to be a thing. 2016 (Nexis) 17 Jan. 3 I'll hear about an award-winning show..and think, ‘Oooh, brilliant, I'll watch that, what side is it on?’ Amazon, that's what side. How can that be a thing? Phrasesc1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 759 After souper pleyen he bigan And spak of murthe amonges othere thynges. a1425 St. Anthony l. 45 in (1881) 4 135 Schewyng, emong oþer thyngys, he be-hyght hym þat he suld make hys name to be knawne be al þe warld. a1513 R. Fabyan (1516) II. f. xix A Parlyament was holden..where amonge other thyngys, the Lordis and Barony of the Lande graunted vnto the Kynge & to his heyres Kyngys the warde & maryage of theyr heyres. 1575 G. Gascoigne iii. 7 The Authour of that booke..which amongst other things gaue this blason to the houndes of that Lords kennell. 1605 R. Verstegan vii. 205 A principal courtier..willed him among other things to equippe his horses. 1756 T. Nugent I. 102 Among other things there is..the hand of a mermade..and several other curiosities. 1779 T. Forrest 283 Amongst other things, was a bulse of gold dust. 1895 A. Roberts & R. Morton iii. 45 I had a box stolen. Amongst other things, it contained my band-parts. 1926 A. Topham xx. 245 We discussed among other things the Titanic disaster which had recently happened. 1953 12 66 Amongst other things, artificial ‘moonquakes’ would be set off by explosives, so that seismic records could be made. 2002 14 Apr. 12/6 She has worked as, among other things, an amateur actress, a barmaid and a bereavement counsellor. P2. 1541 sig. D.ii Nowe this nowe that, they craue alway One thynge or other, they neuer rest. 1581 T. Rogers tr. N. Hemmingsen vi. 70 Sometime Christ by onely commanding, shewed miracles..; somtime by ye vse of one thing or another, as by clay or spittle, to shew that God worketh somtime by meanes. 1744 M. Bishop 260 Most of them were very industrious in selling one Thing or other by Way of turning the Peny to a good Use. 1854 M. Faraday 72/2 The mind naturally desires to settle upon one thing or another; to rest upon an affirmative or a negative. 2005 (Midwest ed.) 22 Dec. ii. 2/1 Jeanne..creates clothes for women who are always celebrating one thing or another. the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > [noun] > thing approved of contrasting an opposite 1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay iv. 50 It is one thing to change ones selfe [Fr. autre chose est se changer], & another thing to will yt there should be a chaunge. a1678 H. Scougal (1726) 392 I do not condemn all chearfulness and freedom, nor the innocent exercises of wit: but it is one thing to make use of these now and then when they come in our way, and another to search and haunt after them. 1735 G. Berkeley xxxvii. 44 It is one thing when a Doctrine is placed in various lights: and another, when the principles and notions are shifted. 1828 W. Scott 2nd Ser. I. viii. 244 It is one thing to employ the revenues of the Church..in the suitable and dutiful reception of your royal Majesty, and another to have it wrenched from us by the hands of rude and violent men. 1904 H. James I. v. 97 It was one thing to have met the girl casually at Mrs. Assingham's and another to arrange with her thus for a morning practically as private as their old mornings in Rome. 1994 15 Apr. iv. 3/1 Bad pitching is one thing. Pitiful pitching is quite another. 2002 Spring 22/2 It's one thing to talk in the abstract about protecting forestland... It's another thing altogether to give up the development rights to land you've owned most of your life. 1633 J. Done tr. ‘Aristeas’ 68 Amazement..for the manner and decoration of one thing and another. 1653 J. Rogers ii. vi. 442 The Pastor wondred; began to say one thing and another. 1718 D. Jones I. iv. iv. 429 So that what with one thing and another, when Mustapha came to review them afterwards..he found he had lost 40000 Men. 1770 93 I saw several soldiers pass and repass, some with bayonets, some with clubs and one thing and another. 1811 J. Austen I. xx. 270 We began talking of my brother and sister, and one thing and another. 1874 T. Hardy II. xxii. 276 What with one thing and another, I see that my work is well cut out for me. 1928 J. Galsworthy Swan Song iii. vi, in (1929) 992 With the telephone and one thing and another they got through. 1990 July 66/2 What with one thing and another, he's neglecting his yoga and karate and aikido. 1739 11 People in such Circumstances, where one Thing leads to another, are unavoidably driven far beyond their first Intentions. 1803 Feb. 11 Give encouragement to a few individuals..—one thing leads to another. People collect; money is brought into the country; and immigration knocked on the head. 1881 Apr. 194/2 Just as one thing leads to another in knowledge and virtue, so does one thing lead to another in ignorance and vice. 1925 A. Loos 189 One thing led to another until somebody rang for an ambulants [sic] and then the police came in. 1992 I. Banks ix. 231 We..had a few drinks ended up back here one thing led to another know how it is always liked older women they're more experienced know what I mean. 2001 19 Aug. 14/2 They decide to knock off a minimart in a well-heeled suburb... But one thing leads to another and before they know it, the minimart owner is dead. 2004 6 Mar. (Home ed.) c12/5 One thing led to another with Brian, too, and we have done the deed many times. the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adverb] > worthy of notice > as one point to be noted the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > firstness > [adverb] > in the first place 1767 J. Abercrombie 235 These plants must now, for one thing, be duly supplied with water. 1790 139 For one thing, he [sc. Garrick] knew that in delivering the text of an author, if he endeavoured to give his meaning a new colouring,..it would be considered as pedantic. 1820 J. Foster 21 For one thing,..there would be a vast number of things and occasions by which it would not..be called into exercise... For another thing, [etc.]. 1878 J. Morley I. v. 173 For one thing, physical science had in the interval taken immense strides. 1925 Oct. 249/1 For another thing, they are both diligent students of the New Physiology, and find the primary springs of human character in the ductless glands. 1951 L. P. Hartley ix. 80 We don't want to be married in London; it's so banal for one thing. 2006 22 Dec. a17/3 For one thing, what will people call this not-quite-marriage ceremony? Unification? Civil union? 1817 13 Sept. 166/3 ‘There is but one thing for it now,’ said the Colonel. 1893 R. Boldrewood xiii. 91 There was only one thing for it, that was to go straight out of the country. 1927 19 Jan. 13/3 The only thing for it was to work the Constitution for all it was worth. 1968 22 Aug. 21/3 They had..decided that the best thing for it was for Plessey to merge with English Electric. 2005 (Nexis) 6 Jan. (Features section) 26 There's only one thing for it: I'm going to take sword-fighting classes. the mind > will > necessity > necessity [phrase] > inevitability 1922 R. D. Paine xxii. 228 I wonder if we could blast the secret out of a French dictionary. Probably not. We shall never know. It is just one of those things. 1935 C. Porter (title of song) Just one of those things. 1941 C. Morgan i. 46 ‘What is it, Carey?’ She smiled. ‘Nothing. One of those things.’ 1974 M. Babson xviii. 136 The price was too high..to be shrugged off as ‘just one of those things’. 1991 Jan. 15/2 For those of you wondering why annual wildflowers continue to renew themselves and their seeds germinate satisfactorily when they have been shed naturally, but rarely do so when scattered with grass seed from a packet, I can only comment that it is just one of those things. the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > acting vigorously or energetically [phrase] > with great vigour or energy 1938 F. Noble 112 It bled like one thing, and my boots was filled with blood. 1962 P. White (1965) 94 ‘Can't resist the bananas.’ ‘Yeah. They say you go for them like one thing when you're preggo.’ 1972 J. S. Hall 136 Like one thing, said of something very well done or in large quantity. ‘He can mimic Windy Bill just like one thing.’ 2000 (Nexis) 9 Sept. 12 He was curled up and shivering like one thing so the guy..tried to keep him warm by putting some ferns on top of him. P3. the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [phrase] > and the like 1601 B. Jonson iv. iv. sig. I2 And with-all calles me at his pleasure; I knowe not how many Cocatrices, and things. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. iii. 56 With Ruffes and Cuffes, and Fardingales, and things . View more context for this quotation 1827 A. N. Royall xix. 193 Them cursed broths and things, that they fed me upon when I was sick. 1894 13 Jan. 14 The Japanese supper with the Japanese room and mats and things. 1919 C. Orr ii. 20 We're exceedingly preoccupied with the war—Zepp. raids and things. 1995 July 62/1 You don't want river water... What about liver flukes and things, and bilharzia? b. 1957 S. Selvon 161 The series went on and West Indies making some big score and bowling out them English fellars for duck and thing. 1980 W. R. Johnstone 80 De lady dere sellin' her punkin an' ting on de dock. 1988 M. Matura 10 Yer does get plenty police an ting coming here dis place behind. 2000 R. Antoni in N. Hopkinson 212 Everybody was drinking rum, and eating roti, and playing music and thing. 1665 J. Brown xiv. 264 Men who would be accounted loyal subjects..think it their duty to..contend for a small & inconsiderable bit of thing. 1706 E. Ward II. v. 24 You taudry Fop, with Diamond Ring; You little Thingum of a Thing. 1794 W. Godwin I. iv. 67 Look at this Falkland! A puny bit of a thing! 1840 R. H. Dana ix. 76 She was a lump of a thing, what the sailors call a butter-box. 1922 D. H. Lawrence (N.Y. ed.) iii. 33 She too was a tall stag of a thing. 1990 A. Munro 265 She rented..a van.., an old blue crock pot of a thing. 2006 (Nexis) 4 Nov. m1 She might be a bit of a thing, even in high heels... But she's also a tough nut. the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > precede or follow in order [phrase] > lastly 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart (1812) II. cciv The fyrst thynge he dyd he wente to the Churche of saynt Peter. 1598 W. Shakespeare iii. iii. 184 Rob me the exchequer the first thing thou doest. View more context for this quotation] 1670 64 Take of the Tincture 60, 80, or 100 Drops,..taking it the first thing in the Morning, and the last thing at Night. 1684 in (1852) I. 99 Ordered That a pole Proportionably Layd, be debated ye first thing tomorrow. 1733 S. Harrison 195 Do this especially the first thing in a Morning, fasting an Hour after it, and the last thing at Night. 1767 R. Warner tr. Plautus Captives v. v, in B. Thornton et al. tr. Plautus I. 339 Phil. O let your son be lighten'd of those chains... Heg. 'Tis my purpose; I'll do it the first thing. 1832 E. Bulwer-Lytton II. iv. ii. 219 A face that puts one in good-humour with the world, if one sees it first thing in the morning. 1848 A. Trollope II. xii. 281 I must see her the last thing,—about nine. 1871 June 370 He often goes round the last thing..to make sure that all is right. 1875 A. M. Diaz viii. 57 Sometimes her woodpile would be all ‘logs and sog’, and next thing 'twould be all ‘light stuff’. 1885 ‘F. Anstey’ 74 I'll buy a cloak for her the first thing to-morrow morning. 1889 Aug. 417/1 It's impossible to lie here another instant, and see that History of Windham, Connecticut. The next thing you'll be proposing to read it aloud to me. 1914 M. Gyte 1 Nov. (1999) 34 Very misty and dull first thing but clears up a little later in the day. 1935 Apr. 95/2 It [sc. the pump] is run last thing at night. 1942 J. Thomas ii. 92 William Trumbo..made a remark to a man by the name of Price. And the next thing they were in a wrangle. 1975 B. Donoughue Diary 13 Feb. in (2005) xi. 311 HW left for Moscow first thing this morning. 2001 K. Sampson (2002) 285 He was only up there a minute and next thing the walls was shuddering like a twister had hit big. P6. 1721 C. Cibber iii. 44 Why; have you the Confidence to suppose I won't do the fair thing by the Gentleman. 1782 F. Burney III. vi. i. 218 I can't pretend for to say I think Mr. Harrel did quite the honourable thing by us. 1814 W. Scott 7 Jan. (1932) III. 398 The Magistrates..have done the genteel thing (as Winifred Jenkins says)..and presented me with the freedom of the City. 1902 W. S. Maugham v. 46 Your idea of a happy life is always to do the disagreeable thing. 2003 1 Apr. 59/1 Derby should do the decent thing and officially part company with John, instead of leaving him hanging in mid-air. the mind > will > wish or inclination > wish or be disposed or inclined [verb] > do as one wishes 1841 R. W. Emerson ii. 54 But do your thing and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself. 1861 R. W. Dixon 98 Go thy way, all things say, Thou hast thy way to go..Do thy thing. 1909 H. G. Wells xvi. 328 Every human being..exists to do new things... Well, this is our thing. 1967 1 June 7 b/3 The hippie's ‘right’..to ‘do my own private thing as long as it hurts no one’. 1968 1–14 Nov. 8/4 Freedom to freak-out, yes; freedom to do your thing, sure. 1971 M. Spark ii. 49 ‘What are they doing here, anyway in this world?’ Heloise, pink and white of skin, fresh from her little sleep, says, ‘Doing their own thing.’ 1981 R. Barnard x. 109 A ghastly warning against..aiming at total self-fulfilment, doing your own thing regardless. 2006 (U.K. ed.) Aug. 124/1 You could arrange to meet up for lunch, but do your own thing for the rest of the day. You don't have to be joined at the hip all holiday. 1970 R. Thorp & R. Blake 126/1 I did the journeying thing, hitchhiking around and thinking—the whole bit—just trying to see what was going on around me. 1987 7 Jan. c2/4 You sleep on it, but we have to act fast, I hear Tom Cruise is very interested. We'll do the lunch thing tomorrow. 1992 Mar. 10/1 Robert Loggia and Brian Dennehy do the bad-guy thing. 1999 T. Lott 114 I was going to ask Tony there, oil us all with a few bevvies, and then do the best-man thing. society > communication > information > enlightenment > enlighten [verb (transitive)] the mind > mental capacity > understanding > wisdom, sagacity > worldly wisdom > have worldly wisdom [phrase] society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > reform [verb (intransitive)] > improve after a mistake 1760 G. A. Stevens I. xxvi. 175 I think I know a Thing, or two,—I think I do,—only ask Tomkyns after me; and if he says I'm to be had,..gi'me an Angel, and I'll give you 500. 1779 F. Pilon i. ii. 7 You see, master Debenture, he understands a thing or two. 1816 48 173 The training-groom was up to a thing or two. 1856 C. Reade II. xxxii. 319 Jackey showed Robinson a thing or two. 1859 W. M. Thackeray xviii I think I have shown him that we in Virginia know a thing or two. 1870 87 The fact of his being ‘up to a thing or two’. 1897 M. Kingsley 673 Does any one..feel inclined to tell me that those old palm-oil chiefs have not learnt a thing or two during their lives? 1919 ‘K. Mansfield’ 4 Oct. (1993) III. 7 I always feel she thinks it ‘so nice and homey’ to occasionally smash a thing or two. 1930 P. G. Wodehouse vi. 143 ‘Listen, Bertie,’ said Aunt Dahlia earnestly, ‘I'm an older woman than you are—well, you know what I mean—and I can tell you a thing or two.’ 1932 L. Golding iii. ix. 592 It's taught us both a thing or two. 1973 M. Bence-Jones xi. 191 Simla could teach Naini Tal a thing or two as regards dances. 2003 1 Nov. (Midlands ed.) 14/1 Tara Palmer-Tomkinson knows a thing or two about holidays. the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > little importance or triviality the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > collectively 1776 i. 11 Bet. Now, mem, is not Harrison a dirty fellow, in every shape, that you can view him? Lady G. No great things, girl, to be sure, from your account of him. 1786 C. Johnstone II. xxiii. 142 As for the matter of that, my life is no great things. 1816 ‘Quiz’ vii. 184 Now I shall give,—‘the Governor’,—He's no great things, between us, Sir. 1842 W. M. Thackeray vi His scholarship..I take it, was no great things. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ (1891) 352 That old place at Bowning..I don't believe it was any great things. 1895 J. Barlow iv. 52 Pitting himself singly against three opponents, two of them better men than he, who was ‘no great things at all, let alone havin' one knee quare’. 1924 H. A. Robinson xi. 132 He told me it was a piece of wooden statuary swathed in flannel... It was ‘no great things’ at securing general all-round blessings, so my informant assured me. the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > [adverb] > without warning 1778 H. Brooke Charitable Assoc. ii. ii, in IV. 235 Butl. I heard it whisper'd, indeed, as how Master Kindly had got some jealous whim in the noggin of him, touching our young mistress being come before her day. Cook. Whew—of all things!—Jealous of our young mistress, sayst thou? 1834 F. D. Hemans Let. 4 July in H. F. Chorley (1836) II. vii. 317 I was only sorry that one dwelling, and that, of all things, a cottage orné, stood on its bank. 1857 W. B. Bernard i. ii. 13 This danger of the bank—the Colonel's bank, of all things—the old Carmarthen bank that we all thought as lasting as the banks of Newfoundland. 1925 T. Dreiser II. ii. xii. 170 Well, well, of all things! Well, I'll be damned! 1934 P. Bowles Let. Mar. in (1994) 133 The music is facile and Lisztlike, with pages of Weill thrown in, and of all things, the 3rd movement of my Sonata included practically verbatim as to the first theme! 1997 C. McPherson 31 And the priest took us into the sacristy, and the job, of all things was to dig a grave in the yard. the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > absolute idealism > [noun] > transcendentalism > elements of Kant's transcendental philosophy 1659 H. More i. ii. §2. 6 What ever things are in themselves, they are nothing to us, but so far forth as they become known to our..Cognitive powers.] 1798 A. F. M. Willich 21 The position of the sufficient ground, in general, depends..upon things in themselves. 1817 S. T. Coleridge I. x. 195 Of this sheet of paper..as a thing in itself, separate from the phænomenon or image in my perception. 1871 A. C. Fraser ii. 41 He recognises substance, or, as we might say, the thing-in-itself. 1891 E. B. Bax iii. 182 This is the truth at the bottom of the ‘thing-in-itself’, so much decried by the orthodox Hegelians. 1919 E. E. Cummings 25 Nov. (1969) 64 There is a binding rhythm which integrates the whole thing and makes it a single moving ThingInItself. 1955 P. G. Lucas tr. G. Martin 199 In the category of actuality the fundamentally aporetic character of the thing in itself again stands out especially sharply. 1968 13 Sept. 8/6 Is a Hovercraft a ship or a plane?.. Whitehall says it's neither, but a Thing In Itself. 2003 9 442 There are in fact various interpretations of Kant's notion of the ‘thing in itself’, according as it is thought of as an independent object or, for example, as a mere (negative) idea of a limit to our knowledge. the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial to [verb (transitive)] > take advantage of > turn to account society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > get or make money [verb (transitive)] > be profitable to > make profit by 1800 C. Dibdin II. iv. x. 381 These vigilant ministers of justice, fancying they should make a good thing of this discovery, paid his reckoning and conveyed him to London. 1813 F. Hamilton in 20 Jan. (1926) 129 The Pujaris who are making a good thing of the ghost have lately been disturbed by a..young Brahman. a1822 P. B. Shelley Peter Bell III vi, in (?1840) 245/2 I have found the way To make a better thing of metre Than e'er was made. 1873 Greenwood in 12 657 These dealers in ragged merchandize make a good thing of it. 1899 C. J. C. Hyne x You are making a good thing for us out of tramping the ‘Parakeet’. 1933 H. Allen III. viii. lvii. 920 One A. Taylor, the son of a baker, who peddles hot buns to the chairs and has made a good thing of it. 1967 ‘O. Mills’ v. 47 Someone's making a good thing out of the contracts, believe you me. 2001 (Nexis) 19 Aug. (Sport section) 77 The Aussies came into yesterday's meeting with an unassailable lead. They made a good thing of it, with Brett Scott winning the steeplechase on favourite Camargo. the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > intellectual superiority > [noun] > intellectual matters 1822 4 87 Town friendships do not make part of ourselves—the things of the heart, which those in the country in some measure do. 1857 Sept. 544/2 Every thing appeared to him arranged in mathematical progression—things of the mind as those of the heart. 1925 B. Carman 27 The sceptre passes and glory fades, Only the things of the heart stand sure. 1965 15 July 10/3 The superiority of the things of the mind over the externals of bodily appearance and success in competitive enterprises. 2004 W. W. McDonald vii. 181 Its crowdedness alone fosters an atmosphere inimical to the things of the mind. 1847 T. P. Prest xlv. 342 Things aint now as they used to be. You're always denied, though I know well enough that you're at home. 1850 5 Jan. 10/1 Ah, me! 'tis changed, and I know no cause, But ‘things ain't now as they used to was’. 1869 J. Greenwood xiv. 246 Things ain't wot they was one time. 1889 D. C. Murray II. 115 ‘Things ain't what they used to be when you an' me was younger,’ said Mrs. Mountain. 1926 Musical Opinion Nov. in K. Koenig (2002) 492/1 ‘Things aren't what they were!.. they never were!’ There is a rich truth in this well-known paradoxical witticism. 1928 24 May 985/1 A careful study of the replies made to the various questions..reveals just two irrefutable facts, namely: (1) Things aren't what they used to be; and (2) Things are just what they used to be. 1944 Oct. 19/3 No, we're afraid things aren't as they used to be. Perhaps reminiscing wasn't too good an idea after all. 1959 P. De Vries 6 Nostalgia, as his Uncle Joshua had said, ain't what it used to be... Nothing was what it used to be—not even nostalgia. 1960 L. Bart (song lyrics) 23 Fings ain't wot they used T'be. There used to be class Doin' the town, buying a bit o' vice. 1980 G. M. Fraser xx. 388 Sir Harry..remarked that things weren't what they had once been. 2014 (Nexis) 8 Nov. (Review section) 35 Would he subscribe to the view that things aren't what they used to be? ‘No, just the reverse. I think things have been improving all the time.’ the world > action or operation > doing > act or do [verb (intransitive)] > act as indicated or suggested 1866 Aug. 371/1 We know they will [pay their subscription dues], for some of them have been promising to ‘do that little thing’ every few days for a year or two. 1931 A. Abdullah xii. 294 ‘You might give him a kiss and a hug—from me.’ ‘I'll do that small thing.’ 1963 N. Freeling i. 23 ‘I'll plan that.’ ‘You do that thing.’ 1977 J. Tarrant ix. 89 ‘I'll be there in twenty minutes.’ ‘You do that small thing.’ 2004 H. Schulz x. 162 ‘Mr. Chairman. If you do that I intend to obtain a court injunction to stop this convention.’ The building almost burst..as many of the five hundred delegates..shouted themselves hoarse: ‘Hah, hah, hah, you do that little thing.’ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s) > anything > a thing of any kind 1895 21 Oct. 6/3 Spain seems to be in favor of any old thing but the truth. 1897 Aug. 484/1 Golf is a game that is easily king, Since 'tis played with golf clubs, not with any old thing. 1911 R. W. Chambers ii. 63 ‘Would you like to have a chance to study?’.. ‘Study? What?’ ‘Sculpture—any old thing!’ 1990 R. Blount 283 I've never felt free enough, before, to say any old thing that pops into my head, with feeling. 1897 24 June 3/2 They imagine that these battles and quarrels of the track are carried on after the races are over. The people who think this ‘have another thing coming’, for the men travel in one of the most peaceful parties that follows any line of sport. 1902 7 Oct. 3/4 No matter what science tells us, it always seems to have ‘another thing coming’. This census bulletin which links long life with the fast one appears to be the other ‘think’. 1906 G. Wilshire 214 Now if we should try and think up some one person who is satisfied with the existing order of things.., we would most likely have thought that we should find him in the editor of the Wall Street Journal. But if we did, then we have another thing [1904 Wilshire's Mag. think] coming. 1919 12 Aug. 8/3 If you think the life of a movie star is all sunshine and flowers you've got another thing coming. 1959 22 Aug. 20/3 Magistrate Edward Robey told them: ‘Please tell your friends in France that if any more come over here thinking they can put money in slot machines and get money galore, they have got another thing coming.’ 1971 26 Feb. 37/4 One of those taken into custody identified himself as ‘very prominent in the community’ and declared, ‘After this, if the police think they are getting a raise they've got another thing coming.’ 1981 J. Sullivan (1999) I. 1st Ser. Episode 1. 57 Del. If you think I'm staying in a lead-lined nissan hut with you and Grandad and a chemical bloody khazi you've got another thing coming. 1998 A. O'Hanlon (1999) I. iv. 60 If you think you're getting into my knickers, you have another thing coming. 1910 D. C. Calthrop v. 41 ‘Now, there's a thing,’ she said, banging her strong hand on the table. 1928 W. McFee viii. 106 ‘Now there's a thing,’ mused James... ‘Why did he curse those two boatmen in English when they were Spanish chaps and he knows their lingo?’ 1946 5 Oct. 7/6 (advt.) Wool... Now there's a thing... Always in season, never too hot—never too cold. 1989 J. Sullivan (2000) II. 6th Ser. Episode 6. 127/1 Cassandra (Has picked up Del's voxphone). Oh that's a coincidence. My dad's just come home with one of these. Del. Has he? Oh well, there's a thing. Hope your mum's pleased. 1994 S. Dawson (1996) i. iv. 31 There's a thing, now—never thought of the Forsytes as a paradigm! 1918 J. W. Gill in 1 46 To a people..who..believe in genii, ghosts, goblins, and those terrific things that ‘go bump in the night’, protective charms are eagerly sought for. a1926 Cornish or W. Country Litany in F. T. Nettleinghame (1926) 7 From Ghoulies and Ghosties And Long Leggetty Beasties And things that go bump in the night Good Lord, deliver us. 1949 L. Hogben vii. 249 To go places with the magic lantern..the electric carbon-arc, to assure a sufficiently bright image of entities other than devils, ghosts, skeletons and things that go bump in the night. 1987 J. Franklin (1988) i. 20 We all have our allotment of shyness, stage fright, and things that go bump in the night. 2002 (Nexis) 20 Nov. 5 My furred friend shakes to the bone during ear-splitting thunderstorms, growls rudely at me and barks at things that go bump in the night. Compounds1663 R. Boyle i. 123 Matter cannot move it self, but requires to be mov'd by a Tectonic thing-creating Power. 1879 J. P. Yeatman iii. 48 It is admitted that originally the Scythians worshipped but one God, and that He was not identified with humanity, or the degrading thing-worship of the Egyptians. 1909 G. Tyrrell in July 108 Those..who, as priests..are interested in the ‘thing-aspect’ of religion. 1909 G. Tyrrell in July 108 His tendency to cleave to this ‘thing-element’ in religion. 1961 W. Percy iv. ii. 190 As the train rocks along on its unique voyage through space-time, thousands of tiny thing-events bombard us like cosmic particles. 1990 C. Paglia i. 30 Thing-making, thing-preserving is central to male experience. C2. the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > noun > [noun] > concrete noun the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > noun > [noun] > countable noun a1853 T. K. Arnold (1853) 5 The names of all things are called substantives; that is, things that subsist, or have a substance. A substantive, therefore, is a ‘thing-word’. 1877 H. Sweet in 487 ‘Snow’..is both a thing-word and a noun, ‘white’ is a quality-word and an adjective, ‘whiteness’ a quality-word and a noun. 1914 O. Jespersen II. v. 115 Another difference in the adjuncts of mass-words and thing-words: the former have what, the latter what a in exclamatory quasi-questions. 1937 A. Smeaton tr. R. Carnap v. lxxvii. 297 ‘Thing’ is a universal word (provided that the designation of things constitutes a genus)... ‘Moon’ is a thing-word..; ‘five’ is not a thing-word, but a number-word. 2001 31 51 The impulse needs to be understood in itself and independently of its instrument, the thing-word. Derivatives the world > existence and causation > existence > reality or real existence or actuality > [adjective] > real or relating to things 1857 J. Hinton in (1885) vii. 132 This love might lead us away from thoughts of the real or thingal. 1884 July 398 What he [sc. James Hinton] would probably call ‘thingal beauty’. 1974 A. J. Bahm ix. 34 The mutual ownership of all these aspects by each other constitutes ‘organicity’, which is itself an aspect of that which is substantial, of that which is functional, of that which is spatial, and of that which is thingal. 1890 5 June 2316/2 Yet is space no thingish entity, no tangible object. 1929 38 222 A substrate does not have to be of a thingish nature; it may be purely imaginary. 1997 H. B. Wiebe v. 151 William James observed a century ago that the focus had shifted to consciousness or mental events—terms that have the advantage of sounding much less ‘thingish’ than soul or even mind. the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [noun] > that which is small > a small thing 1839 T. Moore 11 June (1988) V. 2069 So bedizened was he with rings, ringlets and thinglets in all directions. 1890 I. xv. 203 Creatures on foot and on wing—thinglets that fly one moment and fall down helplessly the next. 2000 (Nexis) 9 Aug. You can download the Reader plus some other stuff (including a cool little thinglet that lets you turn any Microsoft Word file into an eBook). 2007 (Nexis) 15 Jan. 13 The grownup female who cannot bear to read another word about a preening thinglet in her mid-twenties making more than a million a movie. the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [noun] > that which is small > a small thing 1652 E. Benlowes v. xxiv. 70 Poor thingling Man! 1772 T. Hollis Let. 28 Oct. in F. Blackburne (1780) I. 452 The character of the present Pope is interesting to me, a thingling, and in retreat. 1950 O. Nash 45 I'd rather shake hands with Mr. Ringling And tell him his circus is a beautiful thingling. 1971 J. Aiken iii. 74 Come along then, come in quick before the Night Lady fly over. Come along, little thingling. the world > existence and causation > existence > reality or real existence or actuality > [noun] > reality or quality of being real 1697 J. Sergeant 239 We can have..a Notion of the Thing..precisely according to its Thingship (as we may say) or Reality. 1917 H. C. Brown in J. Dewey et al. 157 Every reality is more than one thing... All attribution of ‘thingship’ is abstraction, and all particular things may be said to participate in higher, i.e., more abstract, levels of thingship. the world > existence and causation > existence > reality or real existence or actuality > [noun] > reality or quality of being real 1674 N. Fairfax 19 He that gives it a little reality or thingsomeness, cannot..be so sparing as to..give it no more. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022). Thingn.2 Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Norn. Partly a borrowing from Icelandic. Partly a borrowing from Norwegian. Partly a borrowing from Swedish. Partly a borrowing from Danish. Etymons: Icelandic þing; Norwegian ting; Swedish ting; Danish ting. Etymology: Originally (i, in Orkney and Shetland use) < the unattested Norn reflex of the early Scandinavian word represented by Old Icelandic þing thing n.1 In later use also partly directly (ii) < Old Icelandic þing, and partly (iii) < its cognates in other Scandinavian languages (compare Norwegian ting, Swedish ting, Danish ting). Compare earlier lawting n., Tynwald n., and also Althing n., Storting n., Landsting n.Compare also Older Scots (Orkney and Shetland) Tingholm islet on which the lawting meets (probably < an unattested Norn compound (compare Old Icelandic þing (see above) and Old Icelandic hólmr holm n.1)):1577 in D. Balfour Oppress. 16th Cent. Orkney & Zetland (1859) 37 Ane letter under the commown seale of Ȝetland of the electioun of Nichole Ayth … to the office of lawman generale of all Ȝetland, quhilk is of the dait, In the Ting holm of Ting wale [27 July 1532].The lawting, or supreme assembly of Shetland under Scandinavian rule (and for some time after), traditionally assembled at Tingwall (lit. ‘thing field’) on Mainland, where the judges presided on an islet (or holm) in the loch, close to the northern shore. Attested earlier in several Shetland place names, as Delting, Lunnasting, Nesting, Aithsting, Sandsting (all 1490 or later), all of which probably reflect the Norn etymon. Chiefly historical. society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > [noun] 1774 G. Low (1879) 77 The loch in which was the Ting or ancient Court of Justice, in a small Holm. 1828 Feb. 141/2 The abode of the princes, then assembled with their people at the ‘Thing’, or National Council, at the tumulus of King Bela. 1840 99 They had been accustomed to assemble at the Thing, near the idol temples. 1861 C. H. Pearson 150 Next year, 1014 a.d., while Sweyn, in the midst of his ting, was blaspheming St. Edmund, the saint appeared armed. 1863 H. W. Longfellow Musician's Tale xvii. vi, in 146 The Swedish King Summoned in haste a Thing, Weapons and men to bring In aid of Denmark. 1888 3 Oct. 11/1 This morning..the twenty-eighth Church Congress began work... Those who remember..the third Congress..are remarking how the great Thing of the Church-folk has grown in popularity. 1904 G. Goudie 96 The last shadow of a local Thing was held in 1691. 1954 G. Donaldson iii In earlier times the thing or assembly for the whole of Shetland had met at Tingwall, but the Lawthing now met at Scalloway. 1969 G. M. Brown 35 Twice or thrice a year the chief went to the assembly of chiefs, the ‘Thing’, in the Island of Horses. 1978 A. Fenton 70 At the last riding of the hagri..the line [of the marches] from the Ting on Turvafield was adopted. 1984 28 108 Most of the preparation for lawsuits was devoted to recruiting supporters to accompany the principals to the thing and then to attend the court proceeding. 2005 (Nexis) 8 Oct. (Weekender section) g2 One of the most startling elements to the casual reader is the early Icelandic legal assembly, or the ‘Thing’, which remains in place as the ‘Althing’ in Iceland today. society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > an administrative division of territory > [noun] > in Iceland 1874 W. Stubbs I. iii. §26 Iceland is divided into four fiordungs [ON. fjorðungar] or quarters... Each fiordung was divided into three things, and each thing into three godords or lordships. 1900 11 278 About 965 further changes were introduced. The country was divided into four quarters, each quarter containing three thing, except the northern quarters, each of which contained four. 1950 61 189 Each of these quarters was divided into three sections, each section being ruled by a single magistrate. These sections were called Things. Compoundssociety > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > [noun] > place of meeting 1847 I. A. Blackwell in T. Percy et al. tr. P. H. Mallet (rev. ed.) 108 (note) Places where such circles of upright stones are found, were, generally speaking, Thingsteads, that is to say, the places where the Things or legislative and judicial assemblies were held. 1852 iv. 122 When the bonders who were at the Thing saw it, they started up and bowed themselves down before the idol. Then was it set down upon the Thing field. 1886 J. S. Corbett II. i. 7 All that were gathered that day upon the Thing-hill. 1886 J. S. Corbett II. xiv. 195 To Olaf's great Thing-hall went Thorkel,..on the day appointed. 1889 W. Morris House Wolfings ii, in (1911) XIV. 13 And the hosting is at the Thing-stead, the Upper-mark anigh; And we wend away to-morrow ere the Sun is noon-tide high. 1935 24 June 13/6 Long processions of thousands of S.A., S.S., Labour Service men, and members of the Hitler Youth and League of German Girls, transported..to ‘Thing places’ (tribal meeting places). 1966 C. Hutter tr. E. Oxenstierna vii. 155 It is exactly like the thing-hill beside the three king-barrows in Old Uppsala,and like innumerable thing-mounds in the rest of Scandinavia. C2. the world > time > period > a day or twenty-four hours > [noun] > special or ceremonial days 1875 T. Carlyle iii. 25 We Bonders..thought, King Hakon, when thou heldest thy first Thing-day here in Trondhjem,..that we had got heaven itself. 1886 J. S. Corbett II. vii. 98 Till the end of the Thing-days. 1955 E. Nielsen 33 He refers to analogies with the Old Icelandic institution of a ‘law-reciting’ at a ‘thing-day’. society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > other dues, taxes, or imposts > [noun] 1886 J. S. Corbett II. ix. 127 Thorkel found himself rich. Nor was it from the Thing-dues alone. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † thingv.1Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian thingia to judge, to try, to go to court, to sue (West Frisian tingje to bargain), Middle Dutch dingen to hold a court session, to try, to judge, to plead, to discuss, to bargain (Dutch dingen to bargain, etc.), Old Saxon thingon to negotiate at a public assembly, to hold a meeting (Middle Low German dingen to negotiate legally, to bargain, to vouch for), Old High German dingōn , tingōn , thingōn (weak Class II) to negotiate, to address, to bring to court, to speak, to hope, to strive, dingen , dingan , thingen , tingen (weak Class I) to bring to court, to establish legally, to hope, to trust, to strive, to achieve (Middle High German dingen to sit in judgement, to speak in court, to try, to negotiate, to reach a settlement, to establish by negotiation, to hire, rent, to buy, to sell, to promise, to think, to hope, German dingen to negotiate, to bargain, to hire, rent), Old Icelandic þinga to hold a (public) meeting, to consult, to discuss, Old Swedish þinga to call the parliament, form an assembly or meeting, to negotiate, to reach an agreement, to engage (Swedish tinga to meet at an assembly, to negotiate, discuss, to reach an agreement, to engage), Old Danish tinge to call parliament, to negotiate, to hire, rent, to haggle (Danish tinge to hold a legal assembly, to negotiate) < the Germanic base of thing n.1In Old English usually a weak Class II verb þingian ; however, a (rare) weak Class I form þingan to invite, address, is also occasionally attested. In Old English the prefixed forms geþingian to intercede, reconcile, make terms, determine, and geþingan to determine, appoint, fix, are also attested (compare y- prefix); compare also foreþingian to intercede, negotiate terms, make a settlement (compare fore- prefix); forþingian to intercede (compare for- prefix2); oþþingian to obtain by unfair means, usurp (compare oth prep.), wiþþingian to contradict, talk against (compare with- prefix). Obsolete. the mind > language > speech > request > make a request [verb (intransitive)] > plead a cause OE 45 Þa þe on heofenum syndon, hi þingiaþ for þa þe þyssum sange fylgeaþ. OE 507 Ic [sc. Christ] eow þingade þa me on beame beornas sticedon. OE (Corpus Cambr.) iv. lix. 69 Mid xxx mæssan man mæg alysan xii monþa fæsten, gif he wyle mid soþre godes lufe him sylfum þingian [L. si volunt confiteri cum lacrimis]. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 18124 Ure laferrd iesu crist Iss prest..Hiss follc to þingenn wel inoh Towarrd drihhtin off heffne. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 8997 To þingenn uss wiþþ ure godd Þurrh bedess. & þurrh lakess. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris (1873) 2nd Ser. 15 Sainte poul..þingie us to þe holie fader of heuene, þat he geue us mihte and strengðe to forletene þesternesse. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris (1873) 2nd Ser. 43 (MED) Do we ec mid ure wel dede þingen us wið ure helende. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online September 2021). thingv.2 Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: thing n.1 Etymology: < thing n.1 Compare slightly earlier thingify v. rare. society > communication > representation > physical representation of abstraction > represent physically [verb (transitive)] 1883 G. Massey I. i. 16 Symbolism was not a conscious creation of the human mind; man..did not begin by thinging his thoughts in intentional enigmas of expression. 1947 E. R. Hughes tr. F. Yu-Lan v. 110 The Taoists constantly said, ‘To thing things, but not to be thinged by things.’ The things which assist the transforming and nourishing processes, these are not merely in the category of things (i.e. not to be thinged by things). This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  n.1eOE n.21774 v.1OE v.21883 |
