name
Meaning 1
A surname.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
thong
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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UK: thŏng
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UK: /θɒŋ/
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General-American: /θɔŋ/
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cot-caught-merger: /θɑŋ/
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Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɒŋ
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CMU ARPABET: TH AO1 NG Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A narrow strip of material, typically leather, used to fasten, bind, or secure objects.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
An item of footwear, usually of rubber, secured by two straps which join to pass between the big toe and its neighbour.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Australia, dated, plural-normally
Examples
- 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.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
An item of clothing, usually an undergarment or swimwear consisting of very narrow strips designed to cover just the genitals and nothing more.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, US
Examples
- She was impressed by her friend's confidence to wear a thong on the crowded beach.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
The largest section of a bullwhip constructed of many straps of braided leather.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
a backless sandal held to the foot by a thong between the big toe and the second toe
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: flip-flop
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: sandal
noun
Meaning 7
minimal clothing worn by stripteasers; a narrow strip of fabric that covers the pubic area, passes between the thighs, and is supported by a waistband
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: G-string
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: woman's clothing
noun
Meaning 8
leather strip that forms the flexible part of a whip
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: lash
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: leather strip
noun
Meaning 9
a thin strip of leather; often used to lash things together
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: leather strip
noun
Meaning 10
underpants resembling a G-string; worn by women especially under very tight pants
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- she wore thongs in her quest for the callipygian ideal
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: underpants
History
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”), Icelandic þvengur (“strap, thong, latchet”).
Across languages
Translations
152 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: ре́мък (rémǎk) — leather strip
- Catalan: corretja — leather strip
- Finnish: nahkahihna — leather strip
- Finnish: hihna — leather strip
- French: lanière — leather strip
- Galician: corre — leather strip
- Galician: correa — leather strip
- German: Lederriemen — leather strip
- Ancient Greek: ἱμάς (himás) — leather strip
- Hungarian: szíj — leather strip
- Icelandic: þvengur — leather strip
- Icelandic: leðurreim — leather strip
- Irish: iall — leather strip
- Italian: cinghia — leather strip
- Italian: correggia — leather strip
- Italian: laccio — leather strip
- Latin: lōrum — leather strip
- Latin: āmentum — leather strip
- Māori: patui — leather strip
- Māori: tau — leather strip
- Persian: تسمه (tasme) — leather strip
- Persian: نیفه (nife) — leather strip
- Persian: قیش (qiš) — leather strip
- Polish: rzemień — leather strip
- Portuguese: tira de couro — leather strip
- Russian: реме́нь (reménʹ) — leather strip
- Scottish Gaelic: iall — leather strip
- Serbo-Croatian: remen — leather strip
- Slovak: remeň — leather strip
- Lower Sorbian: rjemjeń — leather strip
- Spanish: correa — leather strip
- Ottoman Turkish: قایش (kayış) — leather strip
- Ottoman Turkish: تاصمه (tasma) — leather strip
- Ottoman Turkish: عصام (ʼısam) — leather strip
- Ukrainian: ремінець (reminecʹ) — leather strip
- Welsh: carrai — leather strip
- ǃXóõ: gǃkxʻāla — leather strip
- Bulgarian: пра́шки (práški) — undergarment
- Catalan: tanga — undergarment
- German: Tanga — undergarment
- German: Tangaslip — undergarment
- Hungarian: tanga — undergarment
- Polish: stringi — undergarment
- Serbo-Croatian: tanga — undergarment
- Spanish: tanga — undergarment
- Afrikaans: plakkies — footwear
- Arabic: زنوبَة — footwear
- Arabic: شِبْشِب (šibšib) — footwear
- Arabic: شِبْشِب (šibšib) — footwear
- Arabic: شبشب (šibšib) — footwear
- Arabic: زنّوبة (zannūba) — footwear
- Arabic: مشاية الصبع (maššāyat eṣ-ṣbuʕ) — footwear
- Azerbaijani: şap-şap — footwear
- Azerbaijani: ləpik — footwear
- Azerbaijani: şəpik — footwear
- Belarusian: в'етна́мкі (vʺjetnámki) — footwear
- Bulgarian: джа́панка (džápanka) — footwear
- Bulgarian: джа́панки (džápanki) — footwear
- Catalan: xancleta — footwear
- Catalan: sandàlia hawaiana — footwear
- Catalan: xoquí — footwear
- Chickasaw: pas pas — footwear
- Chickasaw: pas pas sholosh — footwear
- Chinese Cantonese: 人字拖 (jan4 zi6 to1) — footwear
- Chinese Mandarin: 人字拖 (rénzìtuō) — footwear
- Czech: žabky — footwear
- Czech: vietnamky — footwear
- Dutch: slipper — footwear
- Esperanto: zorio — footwear
- Finnish: varvastossu — footwear
- Finnish: varvassandaali — footwear
- French: tong — footwear
- French: clic-clac — footwear
- French: gougoune — footwear
- French: tapette — footwear
- French: claquette — footwear
- Galician: chanca — footwear
- Galician: chanqueta — footwear
- Galician: chinela — footwear
- Georgian: ჩუსტი (čusṭi) — footwear
- German: Flipflop — footwear
- German: Badelatschen — footwear
- Greek: σαγιονάρα (sagionára) — footwear
- Hebrew: כפכפים (kafkafim) — footwear
- Hungarian: papucs — footwear
- Hungarian: lábujjközös papucs — footwear
- Hungarian: tangapapucs — footwear
- Hungarian: vietnámi papucs — footwear
- Hungarian: strandpapucs — footwear
- Hungarian: pacsker — footwear
- Icelandic: tásandalar — footwear
- Indonesian: sandal jepit — footwear
- Irish: flip fleap — footwear
- Italian: infradito — footwear
- Italian: ciabatta — footwear
- Japanese: ビーチサンダル (bīchi sandaru) — footwear
- Japanese: フリップフロップ (furippu-furoppu) — footwear
- Khmer: ស្បែកជើងនៅឆ្នេរកៅស៊ូ (sbaek cǝǝŋ nɨv cneɛ kav suu) — footwear
- Khmer: ស្បែកជើងផ្ទាត់ (sbaek cəəng phtŏət) — footwear
- Korean: 슬리퍼 (seullipeo) — footwear
- Korean: 쓰레빠 (sseureppa) — footwear
- Korean: 조리 (jori) — footwear
- Korean: 쪼리 (jjori) — footwear
- Korean: 플립플롭 (peullip'peullop) — footwear
- Lao: ເກີບແຕະ (kœ̄p tæ) — footwear
- Lithuanian: pliažinės šliurės — footwear
- Macedonian: апостолка (apostolka) — footwear
- Malay: selipar jepun — footwear
- Malayalam: ചെരുപ്പ് (ceruppŭ) — footwear
- Navajo: kégiizh haaztʼiʼí — footwear
- Polish: klapek — footwear
- Polish: japonka — footwear
- Portuguese: chinelo — footwear
- Portuguese: chinelo de dedo — footwear
- Portuguese: sandália japonesa — footwear
- Portuguese: sandália havaiana — footwear
- Romanian: șlap — footwear
- Russian: вьетна́мки (vʹjetnámki) — footwear
- Russian: сла́нцы (sláncy) — footwear
- Russian: шлёпанцы (šljópancy) — footwear
- Serbo-Croatian: japanka — footwear
- Shona: patapata — footwear
- Sicilian: zòcculi — footwear
- Sicilian: savatti — footwear
- Sicilian: sànnali — footwear
- Sinhalese: රබර් සෙරෙප්පු (rabar sereppu) — footwear
- Slovak: šľapky — footwear
- Slovene: japonke — footwear
- Spanish: chancleta — footwear
- Spanish: calipso — footwear
- Spanish: chola — footwear
- Spanish: hawaiana — footwear
- Spanish: ojota — footwear
- Spanish: sayonara — footwear
- Spanish: slap — footwear
- Spanish: yina — footwear
- Spanish: bamba — footwear
- Spanish: chancla — footwear
- Spanish: sandalia — footwear
- Swedish: flippflopp-sandal — footwear
- Swedish: flippflopp — footwear
- Swedish: flip-flop — footwear
- Thai: รองเท้าแตะ (rɔɔng-táao-dtɛ̀) — footwear
- Turkish: parmak arası — footwear
- Ukrainian: в'єтна́мки (vʺjetnámky) — footwear
- Uzbek: shippak — footwear
- Uzbek: shlyopansi — footwear
- Vietnamese: dép — footwear
- Vietnamese: dép tông — footwear
- Vietnamese: dép lào — footwear
- Welsh: fflip-fflops — footwear
- West Flemish: sletse — footwear
Real reading context