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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

thong en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /θɒŋ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • thŏng
  • (Australia) audio
  • /θɑŋ/ (cot-caught-merger)
  • /θɔŋ/ (General-American)

Etymology

From Middle English thong, thwong, thwang, from Old English þwong, þwang (“thong, band, strap, cord, strip of leather; phylactery”), from Proto-West Germanic *þwangi, from Proto-Germanic *þwangiz, *þwanguz (“coercion, constraint, band, clamp, strap”), from Proto-Indo-European *twenk- (“to squeeze, press, pressure”). Cognate with Scots thwang, thwayng, thang (“thong”), Middle Low German dwenge (“clamp, jaws, steel-trap”), German Zwinge (“vise, clamp”), Danish tvinge (“clamp”), dialectal Norwegian tveng (“shoestrap, shoelace”), Swedish tving (“clamp”), Icelandic þvengur (“strap, thong, latchet”).

Meanings

  1. A narrow strip of material, typically leather, used to fasten, bind, or secure objects.
  2. (Australia, dated, in US, plural-normally) An item of footwear, usually of rubber, secured by two straps which join to pass between the big toe and its neighbour.
    • 2006, Peter Murray, David Poole, Grant Jones, Contemporary Issues in Management and Organisational Behaviour, Thomson, page 108, Players turned up for questioning wearing thongs, shorts and T-shirts.
    • Because of August he wears shorts and sandals, the Japanese geta sort called thongs. 1963 March 16, Hal Porter, “Little old lady passing by”, in The Bulletin, page 22, column 3:
    • You shouldn′t face condescension if you rock into a boutique in your thongs and a singlet, but neither will you be treated like a princess just because you've splashed $5000 on daddy's credit card. 2009, Charles Rawlings-Way, Sydney, Lonely Planet, page 126:
    • T-shirts, cut-offs, and a pair of thongs (T-shirts, cut-offs, and a pair of thongs). 1964, The Beach Boys, All Summer Long:
    • Thongs are the favoured footwear for many Aussies, especially near the beaches, but most people in the Outback find that they can't put a foot wrong with a tough, nicely worn-in pair or workboots. 2008, Steve Parish, Eccentric Australia, page 104:
  3. (UK, US) An item of clothing, usually an undergarment or swimwear consisting of very narrow strips designed to cover just the genitals and nothing more.
    • "At her friends' urging, Margo ended up buying a purple thong." 2009, Ashley Rae Harris, Do You Love Me?: Making Healthy Dating Decisions, Abdo Group, →ISBN, page 16:
    • She was impressed by her friend's confidence to wear a thong on the crowded beach.
    • "Another girl bends over to get her books from her locker. Her hot pink thong sticks out of her low-rise pants." 2005, Alyssa Schafer, “Is school dress appropriate or over the line?”, in The Bismarck Tribune:
  4. The largest section of a bullwhip constructed of many straps of braided leather.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
thongs Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

thongless · thongage · thonged · thonging · sea thong · thongweed · thonglike · thongkini · thongy

Relateds

sandal

Synonyms

list in flip-flop (an item of footwear) · butt floss (an undergarment or swimwear) · G-string (an undergarment or swimwear)

Translations (155)

it laccio (leather strip) · hu pacsker (footwear) · eo zorio (footwear) · fa نیفه (leather strip) · ru шлёпанцы (footwear) · fi varvastossu (footwear) · sh remen (leather strip) · cs vietnamky (footwear) · uli beealae (footwear) · hu tanga (undergarment) · de Flipflop (footwear) · sv flip-flop (footwear) · uz shippak (footwear) · sk remeň (leather strip) · mi tau (leather strip) · fa تسمه (leather strip) · cic pas pas (footwear) · pt tira de couro (leather strip) · ru вьетна́мки (footwear) · pl stringi (undergarment) · ga flip fleap (footwear) · sn patapata (footwear) · id sandal jepit (footwear) · hu papucs (footwear) · ca sandàlia hawaiana (footwear) · hu lábujjközös papucs (footwear) · ka ჩუსტი (footwear) · sk šľapky (footwear) · gl corre (leather strip) · es hawaiana (footwear) · es tanga (undergarment) · th รองเท้าแตะ (footwear) · is tásandalar (footwear) · nv kégiizh haaztʼiʼí (footwear) · ms selipar jepun (footwear) · it cinghia (leather strip) · bg джа́панка (footwear) · az şap-şap (footwear) · sh tanga (undergarment) · fr tong (footwear) · fr tapette (footwear) · ar زنوبَة (footwear) · ko 쪼리 (footwear) · is þvengur (leather strip) · cs žabky (footwear) · gl chanca (footwear) · grc ἱμάς (leather strip) · cy carrai (leather strip) · az ləpik (footwear) · ca tanga (undergarment) · hu vietnámi papucs (footwear) · gl chanqueta (footwear) · gl correa (leather strip) · is leðurreim (leather strip) · scn savatti (footwear) · cmn 人字拖 (footwear) · fr claquette (footwear) · scn sànnali (footwear) · ro șlap (footwear) · es correa (leather strip) · ca xoquí (footwear) · gl chinela (footwear) · km ស្បែកជើងនៅឆ្នេរកៅស៊ូ (footwear) · ml ചെരുപ്പ് (footwear) · es yina (footwear) · cy fflip-fflops (footwear) · uk в'єтна́мки (footwear) · hu szíj (leather strip) · la āmentum (leather strip) · ko 플립플롭 (footwear) · es slap (footwear) · uk ремінець (leather strip) · fi nahkahihna (leather strip) · pt sandália japonesa (footwear) · mfe savat (footwear) · pl klapek (footwear) · ar شِبْشِب (footwear) · ota عصام (leather strip) · es chola (footwear) · lt pliažinės šliurės (footwear) · it ciabatta (footwear) · he כפכפים (footwear) · uz shlyopansi (footwear) · it correggia (leather strip) · ko 쓰레빠 (footwear) · fr lanière (leather strip) · si රබර් සෙරෙප්පු (footwear) · ja ビーチサンダル (footwear) · ru сла́нцы (footwear) · acw زنّوبة (footwear) · km ស្បែកជើងផ្ទាត់ (footwear) · es sandalia (footwear) · pt chinelo (footwear) · sv flippflopp (footwear) · ota تاصمه (leather strip) · la lōrum (leather strip) · fr clic-clac (footwear) · es chancla (footwear) · vi dép lào (footwear) · fa قیش (leather strip) · ary مشاية الصبع (footwear) · it infradito (footwear) · hu tangapapucs (footwear) · ru реме́нь (leather strip) · az şəpik (footwear) · sl japonke (footwear) · vls sletse (footwear) · tr parmak arası (footwear) · el σαγιονάρα (footwear) · arz شِبْشِب (footwear) · de Tangaslip (undergarment) · vi dép tông (footwear) · ota قایش (leather strip) · bg джа́панки (footwear) · hu strandpapucs (footwear) · fr gougoune (footwear) · es ojota (footwear) · de Tanga (undergarment) · fi hihna (leather strip) · ko 슬리퍼 (footwear) · de Lederriemen (leather strip) · mk апостолка (footwear) · pt chinelo de dedo (footwear) · mi patui (leather strip) · fi varvassandaali (footwear) · ca xancleta (footwear) · vi dép (footwear) · lo ເກີບແຕະ (footwear) · pl rzemień (leather strip) · de Badelatschen (footwear) · es bamba (footwear) · es chancleta (footwear) · bg ре́мък (leather strip) · sh japanka (footwear) · ja フリップフロップ (footwear) · ko 조리 (footwear) · es sayonara (footwear) · es calipso (footwear) · bg пра́шки (undergarment) · pt sandália havaiana (footwear) · cic pas pas sholosh (footwear) · yue 人字拖 (footwear) · sw kandambili (footwear) · pl japonka (footwear) · scn zòcculi (footwear) · nmn gǃkxʻāla (leather strip) · acw شبشب (footwear) · ga iall (leather strip) · af plakkies (footwear) · ca corretja (leather strip) · gd iall (leather strip) · nl slipper (footwear) · dsb rjemjeń (leather strip) · sv flippflopp-sandal (footwear) · be в'етна́мкі (footwear)