tong

See also: tóng, tòng, tông, tōng, töng, tổng, tǒng, tǫng, and tøng

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /tɒŋ/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒŋ

Etymology 1

From Middle English tonge (“tongs, fang”), tange, from Old English tange, from Proto-Germanic *tangō, from Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- (“to bite”). Cognate with Old Norse tǫng (modern Icelandic töng), Old High German zanga (modern German Zange). Other cognates include Sanskrit दशति (dáśati, “to bite”) and Albanian dang (“bite, nip”).

Noun

tong (plural tongs)

1. An instrument or tool used for manipulating things in a fire without touching them with the hands.
   • 1998, Alberdina Houtman, Marcel Poorthuis, Joshua Schwartz (editors), Sanctity of time and space in tradition and modernity, page 232:

     […] these attributes are concrete expressions of God's care and providence and therefore not man-made. This explains the quite bizarre presence of a ‘pair’ of tongs in some lists: in order to make a tong one needs a tong, and how could the first tong be made without a tong?

Derived terms

• tonging
• port tong

Translations

tool

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: ունելի (hy) (uneli), աքցան (hy) (akʿcʿan)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鉗子 (zh), 钳子 (zh) (qiánzi), 夾具 (zh), 夹具 (zh) (jiājù), 鋏子 (zh), 铗子 (zh) (jiāzi)

• Czech: kleště (cs) f pl
• Dutch: tang (nl) m
• Finnish: pihdit (fi) pl
• French: pince (fr) f
• Galician: tenaces f pl
• German: Greifzange f
• Hindi: चिमटा (hi) m (cimṭā)
• Italian: pinza (it) f, tenaglia (it) f, molla (it) f

• Japanese: トング(tongu)
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: kêlbetan (ku) m

• Macedonian: маша f (maša)
• Middle English: tonge
• Portuguese: tenaz (pt) f
• Romanian: clește (ro) m
• Russian: ками́нные щипцы́ m pl (kamínnyje ščipcý)
• Spanish: tenaza (es) f
• Swedish: tång (sv) c, eldtång c
• Thai: คีม (th) (kiim)
• Turkish: maşa (tr)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

Verb

tong (third-person singular simple present tongs, present participle tonging, simple past and past participle tonged)

1. (intransitive) To use tongs.
2. (transitive) To grab, manipulate or transport something using tongs.

Translations

to use tongs

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: ունելի օգտագործել (uneli ōgtagorcel), աքցան օգտագործել (akʿcʿan ōgtagorcel)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 钳起, 夹起

• Czech: please add this translation if you can
• French: please add this translation if you can
• German: mit einer Zange halten
• Hindi: please add this translation if you can

• Italian: pinzare, attanagliare (it)
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: atazanar, atanazar (pt), atenazar (pt)
• Russian: испо́льзовать щипцы́ (ispólʹzovatʹ ščipcý)
• Spanish: usar tenaza
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

to grab, manipulate or transport something using tongs

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: ունելիով վերցնել (uneliov vercʿnel), աքցանով վերցնել (akʿcʿanov vercʿnel)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 钳起

• Czech: please add this translation if you can
• French: please add this translation if you can
• German: mit einer Zange greifen
• Hindi: please add this translation if you can

• Italian: afferrare (it), attanagliare (it), abbrancare (it), aggranfiare
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: atazanar, atanazar (pt), atenazar (pt)
• Russian: захвати́ть щипца́ми (zaxvatítʹ ščipcámi)
• Spanish: usar tenaza
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

See also

• tongs

Etymology 2

From Cantonese 堂 (tong⁴).

Noun

tong (plural tongs)

1. a Chinese lineage organization responsible for managing ancestral land
   • 1995, Legislative Council of Hong Kong, “Block Crown Lease (Cheung Chau) Ordinance”, in Hong Kong Government Gazette‎^[1], page A2772:

     An Ordinance to provide for the termination of the Block Crown Lease of Cheung Chau granted to Wong Wai Tsak Tong and for sub-lessees under the Block Crown Lease to hold directly from the Crown.

2. a Chinese secret society or gang

Translations

secret society

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 堂 (tong⁴)

  Mandarin: 幫會 (zh), 帮会 (zh) (bānghuì), 堂 (zh)

• French: tong (fr) m

• German: Tong f
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: tong (ku) f

See also

• triad
• yakuza

Etymology 3

Noun

tong (plural tongs)

1. Obsolete spelling of tongue
   • 1570, Roger Ascham, The Scholemaster:

     Or plaine and perfite way of teachyng children, to vnderstand, write, and speake, the Latin tong, but specially purposed for the priuate brynging vp of youth in Ientlemen and Noble mens houses, and commodious also for all such, as haue forgot the Latin tonge, and would, by themselues, without a Scholemaster, in short tyme, and with small paines, recouer a sufficient habilitie, to vnderstand, write, and speake Latin.

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Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch tong, from Middle Dutch tonge, from Old Dutch tunga, from Proto-Germanic *tungǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɔŋ/

Noun

tong (plural tonge)

1. tongue

Derived terms

• biltong
• tongvis

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Chuukese

Noun

tong

1. love

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɔŋ/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tong
• Rhymes: -ɔŋ

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch tonge, from Old Dutch tunga, from Proto-West Germanic *tungā, from Proto-Germanic *tungǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s.

Noun

tong f (plural tongen, diminutive tongetje n)

1. tongue

Derived terms

• roltong
• tongbeen
• tongloos
• tongpiercing
• tongspier
• vuurtong

Descendants

• Afrikaans: tong
• Negerhollands: tong, toṅ, tung
  • → Virgin Islands Creole: ton (dated)
• Skepi Creole Dutch: tunk

Etymology 2

From etymology 1.

Noun

tong m (plural tongen, diminutive tongetje n)

1. A kind of flatfish, the common sole, Solea solea.

Synonyms

• zeetong

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French

Etymology

From English thong.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɔ̃ɡ/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

tong f (plural tongs)

1. flip-flop, thong

   Synonyms: (informal) clic-clac, (Canada, informal) gougonne, (Belgium, Africa) slache, (West Africa) tapette, claquette

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Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtɔŋ]
• Hyphenation: tong

Etymology 1

From Malay tong, from Hokkien 桶 (thóng).

Noun

tong (first-person possessive tongku, second-person possessive tongmu, third-person possessive tongnya)

1. barrel

   Synonym: tahang

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic.

Noun

tong (first-person possessive tongku, second-person possessive tongmu, third-person possessive tongnya)

1. sound of a gong, kentungan.

Etymology 3

From Betawi [Term?].

Noun

tong (first-person possessive tongku, second-person possessive tongmu, third-person possessive tongnya)

1. (dialect, Jakarta) Clipping of entong (“boy”).

Further reading

• “tong” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

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Malay

Etymology 1

From Chinese 桶. Related to tahang.

Noun

tong (plural tong-tong, informal 1st possessive tongku, impolite 2nd possessive tongmu, 3rd possessive tongnya)

1. barrel, tub, bin

Descendants

• Indonesian: tong

Etymology 2

From Dutch ton.

Noun

tong (plural tong-tong, informal 1st possessive tongku, impolite 2nd possessive tongmu, 3rd possessive tongnya)

1. ton

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Mandarin

Romanization

tong

1. Nonstandard spelling of tōng.
2. Nonstandard spelling of tóng.
3. Nonstandard spelling of tǒng.
4. Nonstandard spelling of tòng.

Usage notes

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

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Middle English

Noun

tong

1. Alternative form of tonge (“tongue”)

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Min Nan

For pronunciation and definitions of tong – see 東 (“east; host; etc.”). (This character, tong, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 東.)

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse tǫng

Noun

tong f (definite singular tonga, indefinite plural tenger, definite plural tengene)

1. (a pair of) pliers, pincers

Derived terms

• knipetong

See also

• tang (Bokmål)

References

• “tong” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tawŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [tawŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [tawŋ͡m˧˧]

Adjective

tong

1. done for, screwed
   • 2001, Chu Lai, Cuộc đời dài lắm, NXB Văn học, page 199:

     Mưa. Thế là lại đi tong một ngày mủ vì mưa nữa rồi!

     Rain. So yet another day's worth of latex gone to waste because of the rain!

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Westrobothnian

Etymology

From Old Norse þungr, from Proto-Germanic *þunguz, akin to Proto-Slavic *tęžьkъ (compare Serbo-Croatian težak) and Lithuanian tingus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tʰɯ̞́ᵝŋː], [tʰóŋː], [tʰɔ́ʊ̯ŋ(ɡ̊)]

  Rhymes: -úŋɡ

Adjective

tong (neuter tongt, plural tōng, comparative töynger, superlative töyngst)

1. Heavy.

   hä jär för mykkjä tongt ― it is much too heavy

Derived terms

• frammtong
• tongfälu
• tongfött
• tonghändt
• tongsam
• tȳnj