thing

thing · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    An object that is not specified or identified.

  2. 2.

    An inanimate material object.

  3. 3.

    A fact, event, or situation.

  4. 4.

    A matter or concern.

  5. 5.

    An action or activity.

  6. 6.

    (informal) A particular interest or preoccupation.

Forms

plural: things

Related words

See also: matter, object, things
Synonyms: affair, item, matter, object

Etymology

From Old English "thing" meaning "meeting, assembly, council, matter, affair, thing." Remarkably, the original meaning was a public assembly for legal or governmental purposes, as preserved in the Icelandic "Althing" (parliament). The evolution from "assembly" to "matter discussed at an assembly" to "any matter or object" occurred over centuries.