tang en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- [ˈtʰɛ̃ŋ] æ-raising
- (Australia) audio
- /ˈtæŋ/ without æ-raising
- /ˈtɛ̃ŋ/ æ-raising
- [ˈtʰæŋ] without æ-raising
- [ˈtʰeɪ̯ŋ] æ-raising
- /ˈteɪ̯ŋ/ æ-raising
Etymology
From Middle English tange, variant of tonge (“tongs, fang”), from Old Norse tangi (“pointed metal tool”), perhaps related to Old Norse tunga (“tongue”). But see also Middle Dutch tanger (“sharp, tart, pinching”).
Meanings
-
A refreshingly sharp aroma or flavor.
The miraculous air, heady with ozone and made memorably sweet by leagues of wild flowerets, gave tang and savour to the breath.
1904, O. Henry, The Missing Chord:To make yogurt, milk or cream is pasteurized and homogenized, then Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophiles bacteria are added to convert the lactose into lactic acid. This is what thickens it, and gives it the distinct tang.
2022 July 18, “Food for Thought: A Short History of Yogurt”, in BC Dairy:a tang of citrus
-
A strong or offensive taste; especially, a taste of something extraneous to the thing itself.
a tang of cellar
Wine or cider has a tang of the cask.
-
(figuratively) A sharp, specific flavor or tinge.
Such proceedings had a strong tang of tyranny.
1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):What, was it I who bared my heart / Through unrelenting years, / And knew the sting of misery's dart, / The tang of sorrow's tears?
1913, Paul Laurence Dunbar, At Sunset Time:a tang of pedantry
a cant of philosophism, and a tang of party politics
1806, Francis Jeffrey, “Memoirs of Dr. Priestley”, in The Edinburgh Review:
-
A projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to a handle, or to some other part.
"And inside the joints, these so-called O-rings are supposed to expand to make a seal—is that right?" ¶ "Yes, sir. In static conditions they should be in direct contact with the tang and clevis and squeezed twenty-thousandths of an inch."
1988, Richard Feynman, Ralph Leighton, "What Do You Care What Other People Think?": Further Adventures of a Curious Character, New York, N.Y.; London: W. W. Norton & Company, →OCLC, page 150:(archaic)
slip the cable over the tang
-
A projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to a handle, or to some other part. ▸ The part of a knife, fork, file, or other instrument or hand tool, which is inserted into the handle.
full-tang
A full-tang knife is strongest against handle breakage, but partial-tang knives are common because of a combination of facts: they are inexpensive, and in some applications any manner of use that would exceed the handle's limit is not an appropriate manner of use.
-
A projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to a handle, or to some other part. ▸ The part of a knife, fork, file, or other instrument or hand tool, which is inserted into the handle. ▸ The part of a sword blade to which the handle is fastened.
I spent the evening collecting the abandoned nests of birds from a rock face a half league distant, and that night I struck fire from the tang of Terminus Est and boiled the coarse meal (which took a long time to cook, because of the altitude) and ate it.
1982, Gene Wolfe, chapter 27, in The Sword of the Lictor (The Book of the New Sun; 3), New York: Timescape, →ISBN, page 200:
-
A projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to a handle, or to some other part. ▸ The projecting part of the breech of a musket barrel, by which the barrel is secured to the stock.
The rifle carried a vernier sight on the tang[…]
1985, Cormac McCarthy, chapter IV, in Blood Meridian […] , →OCLC:
- A shuffleboard paddle.
-
(alt-of, obsolete) Obsolete form of tongue.
alt of tongue
1667, John Lacy, Sauny the Scot: Or, the Taming of the Shrew, Act V, Sauny Hear ye, sir; could not ye mistake, and pull her tang out instead of her teeth?
- (broadly) Anything resembling a tongue in form or position, such as the tongue of a buckle.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| tangs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Coordinates
biscuit · tab · tab · tab · tab
Deriveds
tang button · tangless · tangy
Synonyms
fang · spiciness · twang · twang · piquancy · fang · fang · bite · zing · fang
Translations (58)
it gusto (strong or offensive taste) · sv bismak (strong or offensive taste) · pt espiga (part of a sword blade) · it codolo (projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to some other part) · fi ruoti (part of a sword blade) · izh keeli (projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to some other part) · gl respigo (part of a sword blade) · gl respigo (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · cs pachuť (strong or offensive taste) · fr saveur piquante (strong or offensive taste) · it sapore intenso (strong or offensive taste) · ko 슴베 (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · sh reskost (refreshingly sharp aroma) · de Angel (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · pt espigão (part of a sword blade) · izh keeli (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · it timbro (strong or offensive taste) · cs příchuť (figuratively: sharp, specific flavor) · nl angel (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · it olezzo (refreshingly sharp aroma) · nn tange (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · fi maku (figuratively: sharp, specific flavor) · it retrogusto (strong or offensive taste) · fi ruoti (projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to some other part) · uk хвостовик (projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to some other part) · sv bismak (refreshingly sharp aroma) · it effluvio (refreshingly sharp aroma) · ota سنخ (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · fi kieli (anything resembling a tongue in form or position) · it linguetta (anything resembling a tongue in form or position) · fi kitkeryys (strong or offensive taste) · de Beigeschmack (figuratively: sharp, specific flavor) · izh keeli (part of a sword blade) · it aroma (refreshingly sharp aroma) · cs pachuť (figuratively: sharp, specific flavor) · uk хвостовик (part of a sword blade) · gl espigo (projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to some other part) · fi ruoti (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · cs říz (strong or offensive taste) · it codolo (part of a sword blade) · de Beigeschmack (strong or offensive taste) · fi kirpeys (refreshingly sharp aroma) · es espiga (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · gl espigo (part of a sword blade) · cs říz (refreshingly sharp aroma) · uk хвостовик (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · fi kieli (projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to some other part) · de Erl (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · no tange (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · gl espigo (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · gl respigo (projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to some other part) · sv bismak (figuratively: sharp, specific flavor) · ja 茎 (part of a sword blade) · es espiga (part of a sword blade) · it codolo (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · ru хвостовик (part of small instrument inserted into handle) · fr queue (part of a sword blade) · uk тулійка (part of small instrument inserted into handle)