gang

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See also Gang, gång, gäng, gāng, gǎng, gàng, găng, and gắng

Contents

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English gangen, from Old English gangan (“to go, walk, turn out”), from Proto-Germanic *ganganą (“to go, walk”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- (“to step, walk”). Cognate with Scots gang (“to go on foot, walk”), Swedish gånga (“to walk, go”), Faroese ganga (“to walk”), Icelandic ganga (“to walk, go”). Ultimately: related to etym. 2, see below.

Verb[edit]

gang (third-person singular simple present gangs, present participle ganging, simple past and past participle ganged)

  1. (intransitive, chiefly UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To go; walk; proceed.
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English gang, from Old English gang (“a journey, a way, a passage”), from Proto-Germanic *gangaz. Cognate with Dutch gang, Icelandic gangur, Norwegian gang ("hallway"), Old Norse gangr (passage, hallway).

Noun[edit]

gang (plural gangs)

  1. (now chiefly dialectal) A going, journey; a course, path, track
    • 1895, Frederick Tupper Jr., Anglo-Saxon Dæg-Mæl, Modern Language Association of America, p. 229
      Neither Marshall nor Bouterwek makes clear the connection existing between the Gang-days and the Major and Minor Litanies.
    • 1869, Papa André,Once a Week, p. 418/1.
      That week was also called the Gang Week, from the Saxon ganger, to go ; and the Rogation days were termed the Gang Days.
  2. A number going in company; a number of friends or persons associated for a particular purpose
    the Gashouse Gang.
    The gang from our office is going out for drinks Friday night.
  3. a group of laborers under one foreman; a squad
    a gang of sailors; a railroad gang.
  4. (US) A criminal group with a common cultural background and identifying features, often associated with a particular section of a city.
    a youth gang; a neighborhood gang; motorcycle gang.
  5. A group of criminals or alleged criminals who band together for mutual protection and profit, or a group of politicians united in furtherance of a political goal.
    the Winter Hill gang; the Gang of Four.
    Not all members of the Gang of Six are consistent in their opposition to filibuster.
  6. (US) A chain gang.
  7. A combination of similar tools or implements arranged so as, by acting together, to save time or labor; a set
    a gang of saws; a gang of plows.
  8. A set; all required for an outfit
    a new gang of stays.
  9. (electrics) A number of switches or other electrical devices wired into one unit and covered by one faceplate.
    an outlet gang box; a double gang switch.
  10. (electrics) A group of wires attached as a bundle;
    a gang of wires.
    Do a drop for the telephone gang, then another drop for the internet gang, both through the ceiling of the wiring closet.
  11. The mineral substance which incloses a vein; a matrix; a gangue.
Derived terms[edit]
terms derived from gang (noun)
Translations[edit]
a company of persons
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

Verb[edit]

gang (third-person singular simple present gangs, present participle ganging, simple past and past participle ganged)

  1. (intransitive) To band together as a group or gang.
    "Let's gang up on them."

See also[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

See gan.

Verb[edit]

gang (second-person singular simple present gangst)

  1. Eye-dialect spelling of gan

Afrikaans[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Dutch gang.

Noun[edit]

gang (plural gange)

  1. a passageway, alley

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle Dutch ganc, from Old Dutch gank, gang, from Proto-Germanic *gangaz.

Noun[edit]

gang m (plural gangen, diminutive gangetje)

  1. passageway, alley
  2. gait
  3. journey
  4. hallway, corridor
  5. course
  6. walk, way of stepping, running etc.

Derived terms[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowing from English gang.

Noun[edit]

gang m (plural gangs)

  1. gang, group of ill-doers

Indonesian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Dutch gang (“passageway, alley”).

Noun[edit]

gang

  1. alleyway, alley, narrow street. A narrow pathway bound by walls on both sides
    gang buntu — dead-end alley
  2. an organized crime group
  3. a group of people with distinct identity, such as high school mates. See also geng

Verb[edit]

gang

  1. to form a gang group

Mandarin[edit]

Romanization[edit]

gang

  1. Nonstandard spelling of gāng.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of gǎng.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of gàng.

Usage notes[edit]

English transcriptions of Chinese speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Chinese language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Norwegian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse gangr.

Noun[edit]

gang m

  1. hall, hallway
    Sett fra deg skoene i gangen. (Bokmål)
    Sett frå deg skorne i gangen. (Nynorsk)
    Leave your shoes in the hallway.
  2. passage, corridor
    I enden av den lange gangen er klasserommet.
    The class room is at the end of the long corridor.
  3. aisle
  4. walk, path
  5. walk, walking, going
  6. walk, gait
    Gangen hans er litt merkelig. (Bokmål)
    Gangen hans er litt merkeleg. (Nynorsk)
    His gait is a bit weird
  7. working, running, action, movement, motion, operation
  8. course; passage
  9. course; march
  10. (Bokmål) time
    Vi vant fem ganger på rad!
    We won five times in a row!
  11. plot, action
    Historiens gang var litt komplisert. (Bokmål)
    Gangen i soga var litt komplisert. (Nynorsk)
    The plot of the story was somewhat complicated.
  12. (mining) dike, lode
  13. vein
  14. (anatomy) duct

Inflection[edit]

    Inflection of gang
indefinite singular definite singular indefinite plural definite plural
Bokmål m gang gangen ganger gangene
Nynorsk m gang gangen gangar gangane

Old English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From the verb gangan (“to go, walk, turn out”), from Proto-Germanic *ganganą (“to go, walk”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- (“to step, walk”).

Noun[edit]

gang m (nominative plural gangas)

  1. going, journey, progress, track, footprint, flow, stream, way, passage, course, path
    Him tǽcean lífes weg and rihtne gang to heofonum. — To teach them life's way and the right path to heaven.
  2. a company of people
    Anastasius wæs geháten se mæssepreóst þe se bisceop tó fundode swá fǽrlíce mid gange . . . Se bisceop gewende mid his gebróðrum hám.
  3. drain, privy
    Ðonne him to gange lyst. — When he desires the privy.
  4. platform, stage, steps

Noun[edit]

gang n (nominative plural gangas)

  1. occurrence; passage or lapse of time
    Geára gangum. — In the course of years.

Derived terms[edit]

terms derived from gang (noun)
  • handgang m — imposition of hands: surrender
  • heregang m — incursion
  • hingang m departure, death
  • hlāfgang m — attendance at, or participation in, a meal; procession with the host
  • hūslgang m — going to, partaking of the eucharist
  • ingang m — ingress, entrance, access, beginning; entrance fee
  • mynstergang m — act of joining an order of monks
  • nēahgangol — placed near
  • niþergang m — descent
  • ofergang m — going across, crossing over
  • ongang m — entrance, incursion, assault, attack
  • oxangang m — an eighth of a 'plough-land'; hide
  • relicgang m — visiting of relics: procession of relics
  • samodgang m — communication between rooms
  • sulhgang m — the land which can be gone over by one plough in a day
  • sunganges adv. — moving with the sun
  • tōgang m — approach, access, attack
  • ūpgang m — rising, sunrise; going up, approach, ascent: landing, going inland.
  • ūtgang m — outgang, going out, departure, exit, exodus
  • wæfergange f — spider
  • wīdgangol — wandering, roving
  • ymbgang m — umgang, going about, circuit, circumference, surrounding belt

Scots[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old English gangan, Old Norse ganga, with inflected forms from gān ( > English go).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA: /ɡɑŋ/

Verb[edit]

tae gang (third-person singular simple present gangs, present participle gaun, simple past gaed, past participle gaen)

  1. To go.
    And I will love thee still, my dear
    • Robert Burns - A Red, Red, Rose
      Till a’ the seas gang dry.
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