gang

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: găng; IPA^(key): /ɡæŋ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -æŋ

From Middle English gangen, from Old English gangan (“to go, walk, turn out”), from Proto-West Germanic *gangan, 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”), Vedic Sanskrit जंहस् (jáṃhas). Ultimately related to Etymology 2, which see below.

• gan

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

1. (intransitive, Northern England, Scotland) To go; walk; proceed.
   • 1772, Richard Cumberland, The Fashionable Lover. A Comedy., act III:

     (Colin alone) Ah, Colin, thou’rt a prodigal; a thriftless loon thou’st been, that cou’d na’ keep a little pelf to thysall when thou had’st got it; now thou may’st gang in this poor geer to thy live's end, and worse too for aught I can tell; ’faith, mon, ’twas a smeart little bysack of money thou hadst scrap’d together, an the best part of it had na’ being last amongst thy kinsfolk, in the Isles of Skey and Mull; muckle gude may it do the weams of them that ha’ it! There was Jamie MacGregor and Sawney MacNab, and the twa braw lads of Kinruddin, with old Charley MacDougall, my mother's first husband's second cousin: by my sol I cou’d na’ see such near relations, and gentlemen of sich auncient families gang upon bare feet, while I rode a horseback: I had been na’ true Scot, an I cou’d na’ ge’en a countryman a gude last upon occasion (as he is going out, Miss Aubrey enters.)

   • 1828, James Hogg, Mary Burnet:

     "And am I to meet my Mary at Moffat? Come away, little, dear, welcome body, thou blessed of heaven, come away, and taste of an auld shepherd's best cheer, and I'll gang foot for foot with you to Moffat, and my auld wife shall gang foot for foot with us too. I tell you, little, blessed, and welcome crile, come along with me."

From Middle English gang, from Old English gang (“a journey; way; passage”), from Proto-West Germanic *gang, from Proto-Germanic *gangaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰongʰ-o-s, from *ǵʰengʰ- (“to step; stride”).

Cognate with Saterland Frisian Gong, Dutch gang, German Gang, Norwegian gang, Swedish gång, Icelandic gangur, Vedic Sanskrit जंहस् (jáṃhas).

gang (plural gangs)

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 or workgang.

   a gang of sailors; a railroad gang; a labor gang or pool.

4. 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.

6. A group of criminals or alleged criminals who band together for mutual protection and profit.

   The Winter Hill Gang was quite proficient at murdering rival mobsters in order to take over their rackets.

7. A group of politicians united in furtherance of a political goal.

   The Gang of Four was led by Jiang Qing, the fourth wife of Mao Zedong.

   Not all members of the Gang of Six are consistent in their opposition to filibuster.

8. (US) A chain gang.
9. 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; a gang drill; gang milling.

10. A set; all required for an outfit.

    a new gang of stays.

11. (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.

12. (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.

13. (now chiefly dialectal) A going, journey; a course, path, track.
    • 1840, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Woodnotes I.3:

      In unploughed Maine he sought the lumberers’ gang / Where from a hundred lakes young rivers sprang

    • 1869, “Papa André”, in Once a Week, page 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.

    • 1895, Frederick Tupper Jr., Anglo-Saxon Dæg-Mæl, Modern Language Association of America, page 229:

      Neither Marshall nor Bouterwek makes clear the connection existing between the Gang-days and the Major and Minor Litanies.

14. (obsolete) An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
15. (African-American Vernacular, used in the vocative) A term of address for a group, particularly when cautioning them or offering advice.
    1. (by extension, Internet slang) A term of address for any other person or group of people.

       The sun isn't real? What are you even talking about, gang?

• (outhouse): See Thesaurus:outhouse

• → Bengali: গ্যাং (gêṅ)
• → Cebuano: gang
• → Dutch: gang
• → Hindi: गैंग (gaiṅg)
• → Japanese: ギャング (gyangu)
• → Malay: geng
• → Norman: dgaîngue
• → Norwegian:
  • Norwegian Bokmål: gjeng
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: gjeng
• → Portuguese: gangue
• → Spanish: gang
• → Swedish: gäng
  • → Danish: gæng
  • → Finnish: jengi
• → Tagalog: gang
• → Thai: แก๊ง (gɛ́ng)

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

1. (transitive) To attach similar items together to form a larger unit.
   • 1981, Human Engineering Design Criteria for Military Systems, United States. Department of Defense, page 58:

     Volume controls may be ganged to mode switches to provide maximum output […]

   • 1999 May, Rosario Capotosto, “Building a Bookcase”, in Popular Mechanics:

     When cutting the back cleats with the T-guide, first gang them together so all the marks on one side align.

   • 2011, Corky Binggeli, Interior Graphic Standards: Student Edition, →ISBN, page 317:

     The chairs are usually ganged together using a variety of ganging or locking mechanisms to create rows and prevent the chairs from moving out of position.

• gang up
• gang up on

• Appendix:English collective nouns

See gan.

gang

1. Pronunciation spelling of gan.

Shortening of gangbang.

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

1. Synonym of gangbang.
   • 1970, Richard Allen, Skinhead, New Eng. Lib., →ISBN, page 104; republished as Skinhead, Dean Street Press, 2015, →ISBN:

     He still liked the idea of them all ganging her [...]

   • 1998, Velmarine Oliphant Szabo, Velmarine's Diary (as cited in Alarid, 2000)^[1]:

     […] I’ve learned over the years that there's a thin line to tread to avoid fights or getting “ganged” when rejecting the sexual overtures of incarcerated women.

• The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English.

gang (countable and uncountable, plural gangs)

1. (mining) Alternative form of gangue.

• gnag

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

• IPA^(key): /χaŋ/

• Audio:

  (file)

gang (plural gange)

1. a passageway, alley

gang

1. second-person imperative singular of gaa

From Dutch gang (“passageway, alley”).

gang (Balinese script ᬕᬂ)

1. alleyway, alley, narrow street (a narrow pathway bound by walls on both sides)

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡaŋ/ [ˈɡaŋ]

Borrowed from English gang, from Middle English gang, from Old English gang (“a journey; way; passage”), from Proto-Germanic *gangaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰongʰ-o-s, from *ǵʰengʰ- (“to step; stride”).

gang

1. gang (company of persons)

   Synonym: barkada

2. criminal gang

• ganggang

From langga, pangga. Compare lang.

gang

1. Term of address: dear; sweetie

• IPA^(key): /ɡ̊anɡ̊/, [ɡ̊ɑŋˀ]
• Rhymes: -ɑŋˀ

From Old Danish gang, from Old Norse gangr, from Proto-Germanic *gangaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- (“stride, step”).

gang c (singular definite gangen, plural indefinite gange)

1. the act of walking, a walk
2. a time (an occurrence, an incidence)

   Hvor mange gange slog klokken?

   How many times did the bell toll?

3. a way or path to walk on, either outdoors or indoors (a corridor)

See gange.

gang

1. imperative of gange

• “gang” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “gang” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

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

• IPA^(key): /ɣɑŋ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: gang
• Rhymes: -ɑŋ

gang m (plural gangen, diminutive gangetje n)

1. passageway, alley

   De oude stad heeft vele smalle gangen die toeristen aantrekken. ― The old city has many narrow alleys that attract tourists.

   Achter het huis is een smalle gang die naar de tuin leidt. ― Behind the house is a narrow passageway leading to the garden.

   Het gangetje tussen de gebouwen is moeilijk te vinden. ― The small alley between the buildings is hard to find.

2. gait, walk (person's manner of walking or stepping)

   Zijn trotse gang maakte indruk op iedereen. ― His proud gait impressed everyone.

   Ze heeft een elegante gang die opvalt. ― She has an elegant walk that stands out.

   De dokter beoordeelde zijn gang tijdens de fysieke beoordeling. ― The doctor assessed his gait during the physical evaluation.

3. hallway, corridor

   De gang was verlicht met oude lantaarns. ― The hallway was lit with old lanterns.

   Aan het einde van de gang is een deur naar de tuin. ― At the end of the corridor is a door to the garden.

   Het gangetje leidt naar de slaapkamers. ― The small hallway leads to the bedrooms.

4. course (meal)

   Het voorgerecht is de eerste gang van het diner. ― The appetizer is the first course of the dinner.

   Hoeveel gangen heeft dit feestelijke diner? ― How many courses does this festive dinner have?

   De chefkok bereidde een vijfgangenmaaltijd voor. ― The chef prepared a five-course meal.

• Afrikaans: gang
• Petjo: gang
• → Balinese: gang
• → Caribbean Javanese: gang
• → Indonesian: gang
• → Hokkien: 澗 / 涧 (kàn, “narrow street”)^[1]
• → Papiamentu: gang, han, hangetsji, hangetsje

Borrowed from English gang.

• (France) IPA^(key): /ɡɑ̃ɡ/

  • Audio (France, Avignon):

    (file)

• (Canadian French) IPA^(key): /ɡaŋ/

  • Audio (Canada):

    (file)

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

gang m or f (plural gangs)

1. gang, group of ill-doer
2. (Quebec, colloquial) a group of friends

• en gang

• “gang”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

gang

1. river

• Burling, R. (2003), The Language of the Modhupur Mandi (Garo) Vol. II: The Lexicon‎^[1], Bangladesh: University of Michigan, page 114

gang

1. obsolete form of geh, singular imperative of gehen

gang

1. (obsolete) alternative form of gäng(e)

   Synonym: gängig

• gang und gäbe

• “gang” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.

From German Gang.

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡɒŋɡ]
• Rhymes: -ɒŋɡ

gang (plural gangok)

1. (informal) outside walkway, hanging corridor (along the main walls of the courtyard of a tenement building, a major venue of socializing with neighbours)

   Synonym: (mainly as an architectural term) függőfolyosó

• gang in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

From Dutch gang (“passageway, alley”), from Middle Dutch ganc, from Old Dutch gank, gang, from Proto-Germanic *gangaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰongʰ-o-s, from *ǵʰengʰ- (“to step; stride”). Doublet of geng.

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈɡaŋ/ [ˈɡaŋ]
• Rhymes: -aŋ
• Syllabification: gang

gang (plural gang-gang)

1. alleyway, alley, narrow street. A narrow pathway bound by walls on both sides

   Synonym: lorong

   gang buntu ― dead-end alley

• → Min Nan: 澗 / 涧 (kàn, “narrow street”)^[1]

gang (plural gang-gang)

1. alternative spelling of geng (“gang”)

gang

1. alternative spelling of geng

• “gang”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016
• Yuswardi Saliya; Sugeng Rahardjo; Bambang Panudju; Ismet Darwis; Sri Probo Sudarmo; George The (1978), Daftar Istilah Arsitektur [Glossary of Architecture] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan

• ganga, ghenga, ghega (dated)

Unadapted borrowing from English gang.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɛnɡ/^[1]
• Rhymes: -ɛnɡ

gang f (usually invariable, plural (dated) gangs)

1. gang, specifically:
2. (dated) a group of people
3. (dated) a group of laborers under one foreman
4. a criminal group

• gangster

• gang in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Borrowed from English gang.

• IPA^(key): /ɡanɡ/
• Rhymes: -anɡ

gang m (plural gangijiet)

1. gang (a company of persons)

gang

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

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

gang

1. alternative form of gong

From Old Norse gangr, also related to gå.

gang m (definite singular gangen, indefinite plural ganger, definite plural gangene)

1. hall, hallway

   Sett fra deg skoene i gangen.

   Leave your shoes in the hallway.

2. passage, corridor

   I enden av den lange gangen er klasserommet.

   The classroom 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.

   His gait is a bit weird

7. working, running, action, movement, motion, operation
8. course; passage
9. course; march
10. time

    Vi vant fem ganger på rad!

    We won five times in a row!

11. plot, action

    Historiens gang var litt komplisert.

    The plot of the story was somewhat complicated.

12. (mining) dike, lode
13. vein
14. (anatomy) duct

• “gang” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Old Norse gangr, also related to gå.

• IPA^(key): /ɡɑŋː/

gang m (definite singular gangen, indefinite plural gangar, definite plural gangane)

1. hall, hallway

   Sett frå deg skorne i gangen.

   Leave your shoes in the hallway.

2. passage, corridor

   I enden av den lange gangen er klasserommet.

   The classroom is at the end of the long corridor.

3. aisle
4. walk, path
5. walk, walking, going
6. walk, gait

   Gangen hans er litt merkeleg.

   His gait is a bit weird

7. working, running, action, movement, motion, operation
8. course; passage
9. course; march
10. plot, action

    Gangen i soga var litt komplisert.

    The plot of the story was somewhat complicated.

11. (mining) dike, lode
12. vein
13. (anatomy) duct

• gong

• “gang” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• gancg, gong
• ġeong, ġiong — with initial /j/ after palatalised past forms of gangan

From Proto-West Germanic *gang, from Proto-Germanic *gangaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- (“to step; stride”). Related to Old English gangan (“to go, walk”).

• IPA^(key): /ɡɑnɡ/, [ɡɑŋɡ]

gang m

1. going, walking
2. path
3. walk, gait
4. toilet

Strong a-stem:

• Middle English: gong, gang, gonge, goonge
  • English: gang (see there for further descendants); gong, goung (obsolete)
  • Scots: gang, gaung, ging

    Northeastern: dyang, gyang

From Proto-West Germanic *gang.

gang m (plural ganga)

1. A path, course, way, journey; a going

• ubargang
• Wolfgang

• Middle High German: ganc
  • Bavarian: Gång
  • German: Gang
    • Polish: ganek
      • Yiddish: גאַניק (ganik) (probably borrowed from Polish)
  • Luxembourgish: Gang, Gank
  • → Middle French: gangue
    • French: gangue
      • → English: gangue

Borrowed from English gang, from Middle English gang, from Old English gang, from Proto-West Germanic *gang, from Proto-Germanic *gangaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰongʰ-o-s, from *ǵʰengʰ-. Doublet of ganek.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡaŋk/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aŋk
• Syllabification: gang

gang m inan

1. gang (criminal group with a common background)

   Synonyms: banda, szajka

• gang in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• gang in Polish dictionaries at PWN

• Hyphenation: gang

gang (Portugal) m or (Brazil) f (plural gangs)

1. dated spelling of gangue

• “gang”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “gang”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from German Gang.

gang n (plural ganguri)

1. passageway

• gae
• gan
• gyang
• ging

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

• IPA^(key): /ɡɑŋ/

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

1. To go.
   • 1794, Robert Burns, A Red, Red, Rose:

     And I will love thee still, my dear
     Till a’ the seas gang dry.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:

     "There you gang," she cries, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door. A bonnie dutiful child, quotha! Wumman, hae ye nae pride?—no even the mense o' a tinkler-lass?"

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Borrowed from English gang.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡan/ [ˈɡãn]
• Rhymes: -an
• Syllabification: gang

gang m (plural gangs)

1. gang

   Synonyms: (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico) mara, pandilla

Borrowed from English gang, from Middle English gang, from Old English gang (“a journey; way; passage”), from Proto-Germanic *gangaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰongʰ-o-s, from *ǵʰengʰ- (“to step; stride”).

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈɡaŋ/ [ˈɡaŋ]
• Rhymes: -aŋ
• Syllabification: gang

gang (Baybayin spelling ᜄᜅ᜔)

1. gang (company of persons)

   Synonyms: barkada, barkadahan

2. criminal gang

• gangster
• gangsterismo

• “gang”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025
• “gang”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018
• “gang”, in Pinoy Dictionary, 2010–2026.

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɣaːŋ˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ɣaːŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɣaːŋ˧˧]

From Proto-Vietic *c-kaːŋ (“handspan”).

gang • (𡬼, 𪮚)

1. handspan

From Proto-Vietic *t-kaːŋ, from Old Chinese 鋼 (OC *C.kˤaŋ) (B-S) (SV: cương).

gang • (𨧠, 𮢪)

1. cast iron