Thing

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Thing (assembly)

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See thing.

• enPR: thĭng, IPA^(key): /θɪŋ/

• Audio (US):

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• Rhymes: -ɪŋ

Thing (plural Things)

1. (chiefly historical) A public assembly or judicial council in a Germanic country.
   • 1894, George W. Dasent, transl., The Orkneyingers Saga: Icelandic Sagas, volume 3:

     But when the earl held a Thing, then Thorkell spoke on behalf of the freemen, told the need of the men, and bade the earl spare his people.

   • 1988, Patrick J. Geary, Chapter II, "The Barbarian World in the Sixth Century", 'Germanic Culture', Before France and Germany: the creation and transformation of the Merovingian world, page 55:

     The supreme political unit of the tribe was the assembly of its free male warriors. This assembly, called the "Thing", served as the court of highest instance for dealing with individuals who had broken fundamental elements of the tribal pact, an occasion to meet and to reinforce ties among members, and, often, an assembly which preceded a military campaign.

   • 1997, “Egil's Saga”, in Bernard Scudder, transl., The Sagas of Icelanders, Penguin, published 2001, page 168:

     Before Thorstein left home, he and Asgerd decided to take Arinbjorn's gift, the silk cloak, out of Egil's chest, and Thorstein wore it to the Thing.

   • 2004, Sjúrður Skaale, The Right to National Self-Determination: the Faroe Islands and Greenland, page 46:

     1928 The Executive Committee of the Law Thing is created to assume executive powers from the Governor.

2. (informal) Nickname or appellative for numerous "things", including fictional characters.
3. (informal, slang, US) Nickname for the Volkswagen 181.

• Thingstead
• the Althing of Iceland
• the People's Thing of Denmark
• the Great Thing of Norway
• the Law Thing of the Faroes

• Night, night

18th century, learned borrowing from Old High German thing and Old Norse þing, both from Proto-Germanic *þingą. Doublet of inherited Ding.

• IPA^(key): /tɪŋ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Thing n (strong, genitive Things, plural Thinge)

1. Thing (historic Germanic council)

   Synonym: (dated) Ding

• Thie