gongn.1
/ɡɒŋ/, U.S. /ɡɔŋ/, /ɡɑŋ/ Now historical and archaic.
1. A privy; a latrine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun]
gongOE
privy?c1225
room-housec1275
chamber foreignc1300
wardrobea1325
privy chamberc1325
foreignc1390
siegec1400
stool1410
jakes1432
house of easementa1438
kocayc1440
siege-hole1440
siege-house1440
privy house1463
withdraught1493
draught1530
shield1535
bench-hole1542
common house1542
stool1542
jakes house1547
boggard1552
house of office?1560
purging place1577
little house1579
issue1588
Ajax1596
draught-house1597
private1600
necessary house1612
vault1617
longhouse1622
latrine1623
necessary1633
commonsa1641
gingerbread officea1643
boghouse1644
cloaca1645
passage-house1646
retreat1653
shithouse1659
closet of ease1662
garderobe1680
backside1704
office1727
bog?1731
house of ease1734
cuz-john1735
easing-chair1771
backhouse1800
outhouse1819
netty1825
petty1848
seat of ease1850
closet1869
bathroom1883
crapper1927
lat1927
shouse1941
biffy1942
shitholec1947
toot1965
shitter1967
woodshed1974
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xx. 343 Þa ða he to gange com, & he gesæt, þa gewand him ut eall his innewearde æt his settle.
OE Antwerp-London Gloss. (2011) 125 Latrina, uel Secessus, gang.
c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) l. 1181 (MED) Als he com bi a gong, Amidde þe pit he hit slong.
c1400 in T. F. Simmons Lay Folks Mass Bk. (1879) 125 (MED) I knoweleche to þe þat þer nys no goonge more stynkynge þenne my soule is.
a1450 (?1419–20) Friar Daw's Reply (Digby) l. 304 in P. L. Heyworth Jack Upland (1968) 85 If euery hous were honest to ete fleish inne, Þan were it honest to ete in a gonge.
c1480 (a1400) St. Machor 981 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 28 Þai ware..schot in till gong stinkand.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. xxxii The Iewe of Tewkysbury which fell into a Gonge vpon the Satyrday.
?1521 A. Barclay Bk. Codrus & Mynalcas sig. Aiijv In a foule prison, or in a stynking gong.
1528 T. Paynell tr. Arnaldus de Villa Nova in Joannes de Mediolano Regimen Sanitatis Salerni sig. I.iijv We shulde eschewe gunges, synkes, gutters..and all other perticuler places infected with carreine.
a1577 G. Gascoigne Grief of Joye ii. lxii, in Compl. Wks. (1910) II. 538 A stately Toye, a preciows peece of pellfe, A gorgeous gong, a worthles painted wall, A flower (full freshe,) [etc.].
1867 Ecclesiastic 29 25 All went to the gong after coming from the church in procession.
2004 D. Hilliam Castles & Cathedrals ii. 19 Everyone had his or her necessary part to play in making the castle run smoothly, even the poor old keeper of the gongs!
2. The contents of a privy; human excrement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > excretions > faeces > [noun]
gorec725
mixeOE
quedeeOE
turdeOE
dungOE
worthinga1225
dirta1300
drega1300
naturea1325
fen1340
ordurec1390
fimea1475
merd1486
stercory1496
avoidc1503
siegec1530
fex1540
excrement1541
hinder-fallings1561
gong1562
foil1565
voiding1577
pilgrim-salvec1580
egestion1583
shita1585
sir-reverence1592
purgament1597
filinga1622
faecesa1625
exclusion1646
faecality1653
tantadlin1654
surreverence1655
draught1659
excrementitiousness1660
jakes1701
old golda1704
dejection1728
dejecture1731
shitea1733
feculence1733
doll1825
crap1846
excreta1857
excretes1883
hockey1886
dejecta1887
job1899
number two1902
mess1903
ming1923
do1930
tomtit1930
pony1931
No. 21937
dog shit1944
Shinola1944
big job1945
biggie1953
doo-doo1954
doings1957
gick1959
pooh1960
pooh-pooh1962
dooky1965
poopy1970
whoopsie1973
pucky1980
jobbie1981
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > [noun] > dirt removed in cleaning > removed from privies or cesspools
gong1562
night soil1721
1562 Lawes of Markette sig. Av No man shall berry any doung or gounge, within the liberties of thys Citie.
2013 Evening Standard (Nexis) 12 Sept. 45 He had the task of cleaning a privy and its contents, and taking ‘gong’ outside the city limits where it might be used as fertiliser on fields and gardens.
Compounds
C1. General attributive. † gong thirl n. [ < gong n.1 + thirl n.1] Obsolete
gonghole n.
ΚΠ
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 203 Goo [n] ge hoole [?a1475 Winch. gonge hole], gumphus.
2012 M. Thiébaux Unruly Princess xvii. 126 Your neck's dirty, man! You fall into a mud pit or a gonghole?
gong-house n.
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?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 68 Ha beoð þe deoueles gongmen & beoð. aa. in his gonghus.
2011 R. Clements Prince xi. 111 I need the gong-house.
gong pit n.
ΚΠ
OE Ælfric Interrogationes Sigewulfi in Genesin (Corpus Cambr. 162) xlix in Anglia (1884) 7 34 On þære nyðemestan fleringe wæs heora gangpyt & heora myxen.
c1390 in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 142 In to a gonge-put fer wiþ-Inne Þe child adoun þer-Inne he þrong.
a1500 Seven Sages (Cambr.) (1933) l. 1017 (MED) Hys sone..caste hyt yn a gonge pytte.
2010 J. Holroyd Lost Legend of Hawk xi. 241 Likely the corpses found a last resting place in the town midden and gong pit.
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?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 68 To hulien þe gong þurl.
C2. attributive, in compounds denoting a person employed to empty or clean out privies. † gong fayer n. [ < gong n.1 + fayer n.] Obsolete† gong fower n. [ < gong n.1 + fower n. at fow v. Derivatives.] Obsolete
gong farmer n. [ < gong n.1 + farmer n.1In quot. c1302 as a surname.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > emptying or cleaning of privies > [noun] > one who
gong farmerc1302
dung farmer1546
nightman1579
jakes farmer1591
jakes barreller1596
lantern-man1599
gold-finder1611
poleman1615
night-farmer1620
jakesman1630
c1302 in H. E. Salter Cartulary Hosp. St. John Baptist (1917) III. 54 De Thoma le Gangfurmer.
a1400 Ancrene Riwle (Pepys) (1976) 34 Þise two mysters Men ben þe deuels gonge fermers and fermen his gonge.
c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 267 Þai made a gonge-fermer smyte of his heuede.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 203 Goonge fyrmar [?a1475 Winch. gonge ffoware, 1499 Pynson gonge feyar], cloacarius, latrinarius.
1562 Lawes of Markette sig. Av No Goungfermor shall carry any Ordoure tyll after nine of the clocke in the night.
1596 J. Harington New Disc. Aiax sig. C1 Met in the street a gongfarmer with his cart full laden.
1601 J. Deacon & J. Walker Dialogicall Disc. Spirits & Diuels To Rdr. sig. av If they still make it their speciall glory to vndergo the gung-farmers office.
1702 W. Bohun Privilegia Londini 62 No Goung-Fermour shall spill any Ordure in the Street, under pain of Thirteen Shillings Fourpence.
1905 H. Littlehales Medieval Rec. London City Church Introd. p. xl That it should be done thoroughly men were often paid to watch the gong farmers at their work.
2007 P. Dixon Knights & Castles 28 The gong farmer had one of the worst jobs in the castle—cleaning out cesspits and latrines.
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1499 Promptorium Parvulorum (Pynson) sig. gvii/2 Gonge feyar [1440 Harl. goonge fyrmar, ?a1475 Winch. gonge ffoware], cloacarius.
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?a1475 Promptorium Parvulorum (Winch.) (1908) 195 Gonge ffoware [1440 Harl. goonge fyrmar, 1499 Pynson gonge feyar], cloacarius, latrinarius.
gongman n.
ΚΠ
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 68 Ha beoð þe deoueles gongmen & beoð. aa. in his gonghus.
2014 P. Doherty Roseblood 26 He had sealed indentures with the city council to manage, control and direct all the scavengers, rakers and gongmen in each of the city wards.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
gongn.2
/ɡɒŋ/, U.S. /ɡɔŋ/, /ɡɑŋ/ 1.
a. A metallic disk with upturned rim (usually made of an alloy composed of four parts copper to one of tin) which produces resonant musical notes when suspended and struck with a soft mallet. Also Chinese gong, a type of gong used in orchestras to give special effects. (See tom-tom n. 1b) Of Asiatic (Malay) origin, but now very generally employed in European countries as an instrument of call, esp. to summon a household to meals.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > [noun] > gong
gongc1600
gom1694
gum-gum1700
gong-gong1771
tam-tam1839
ghanta1867
c1600 Adv. A. Battel in Purchas Pilgrims (1625) II. 970 In the morning before day the Generall did strike his Gongo, which is an Instrument of War that soundeth like a Bell.
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World xii. 338 A great Drum with but one Head, called a Gong; which is instead of a Clock.
1779 T. Forrest Voy. New Guinea 176 They are fond of musical gongs, which come from Cheribon on Java.
1801 R. Southey Thalaba II. ix. 190 The heavy Gong is heard, That falls like thunder on the dizzy ear.
1806 T. Busby Compl. Dict. Music (ed. 2) Gong, a Chinese instrument of the pulsatile kind.
1806 T. Busby Compl. Dict. Music (ed. 2) The Gong is never introduced, except to give a national cast to the music in which it is employed, or to awaken surprise, and rouse the attention of the auditors.
1816 W. Scott Antiquary I. vi. 120 I have had equally doubt concerning my dinner-call. Gongs, now in present use, seemed a new-fangled and heathenish invention.
1832 H. Martineau Demerara iii. 30 At this moment the gong sounded the hour of dinner.
1842 J. Wilson Recreations Christopher North I. 213 Let the breakfast-gong sound at ten o'clock.
1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal II. x. 225 The two damsels now appeared, summoned by the gong.
1888 J. Stainer Stainer & Barrett's Dict. Musical Terms (ed. 3) 435/2 Tom-tom,..a Chinese gong.
1900 Grove's Dict. Music (ed. 2) IV. 56/2 Tam-tam, the French term for the gong in the orchestra.
1961 A. C. Baines Musical Instruments through Ages xiv. 341 The tam-tam or gong, from Eastern Asia, has been used in the orchestra to assist a climax, with its ominous note to suggest sadness or despair.
1962 Listener 22 Nov. 885/3 A vibraphone, a zylophone, and four Chinese gongs.
1968 Observer 14 Jan. 4/7 We don't make gongs very much.
1968 Observer 14 Jan. 4/7 The traditional home of the gong is the Far East.
b. A saucer-shaped bell, struck by a hammer or tongue moved by some mechanical device; chiefly used as an alarm or call-bell.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > bell > [noun] > other bells
handbell1494
pull-bell1552
morris bell1560
wire-bell1668
joy-bells1808
sleigh-bell1849
gong1864
gong-bell1864
fairy bells1888
tin-pot1895
1864 in Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang.
1875 in E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II.
2. slang.
a. A medal or decoration (see quot. 1925).
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the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > token of victory or supreme excellence > [noun] > award for merit > decoration > medal
medal1751
gong1925
1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 106 A gong, a medal. (An old Army term suggested by the shape.)
1942 ‘B. J. Ellan’ Spitfire! xv. 80 Wilf, G—— and F/Sgt. S—— had all been awarded ‘Gongs’ (medals to you!) after Dunkirk.
1944 Lancet 9 Sept. 359/1 To balance my civilian contemporaries' achievements of the past four years, I have acquired a wife and family, some expensive tastes, the ‘1939–43 gong’.
1954 G. Smith Flaw in Crystal 144 He'd been invalided out... There he was..unadorned among all the wings and pips and gongs.
1958 M. Dickens Man Overboard iii. 35 Other people came out of the war with Mentions and worthwhile gongs that tacked letters after their names.
1959 Daily Mail 3 Feb. 5/2 He wore medals—and a carnation. He said: ‘I have boobed dreadfully, old boy. Apparently a carnation with gongs is a terrible clanger.’
b. A warning bell on a police car.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > police car > siren or bell of
police siren1923
gong1938
blues and twos1985
1938 F. D. Sharpe Sharpe of Flying Squad xxvii. 277 When they spotted the police car on their trail they opened their car out and pretended that they couldn't hear the gong,..but they..were overhauled and pinched.
3. [? A different word.] A narcotic drug.
ΚΠ
1915 G. Bronson-Howard God's Man vii. i. 393 Come, lie 'round and join in the fun; With the aid of ‘the gong’.
1933 Amer. Speech 8 27/2 Hitting the gong,..kicking the gong around.
1952 J. Steinbeck East of Eden 198 Let the gong alone for a couple of weeks.
1955 U.S. Senate Hearings (1956) VIII. 4162 Beat the gong,..to smoke opium.
1955 U.S. Senate Hearings (1956) VIII. 4162 Gong beater, one who smokes opium.
Derivatives
ˈgonger n. U.S. slang. opium; an opium pipe.
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1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 38 Gonger. Current amongst smokers and drug fiends. An opium pipe.
1938 Amer. Speech 13 185/1 Gonger, any opium derivatives.
gongeˈrine n. U.S. slang. an opium pipe.
ΚΠ
1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 38 Gonger... An opium pipe. Also used in the diminutive form ‘gongerine’.
gong-like adj.
ΚΠ
1924 A. D. Sedgwick Little French Girl ii. v. 140 Now and then she emitted a loud gong-like laugh.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a.
gong-drum n.
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1926–7 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 1086 Gong drum jazz outfit... Comprising:—17-in. Gong Drum, 10-in. Side Drum and Sticks, [etc.].
1954 Grove's Dict. Music (ed. 5) II. 773/1 A single-headed type of bass drum is the ‘gong drum’ or ‘gong bass drum’... Introduced for theatre use to save space..it was adopted towards the end of the 19th century..and is still in use..to-day.
gong-hammer n.
ΚΠ
1889 Cent. Dict. Gong hammer.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 4 Sept. 8/2 The lever which governs the escapement of the alarum makes a noise sufficient almost to wake a light sleeper without the aid of the gong-hammer striking.
gong-metal n.
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1854 J. Scoffern in Orr's Circle Sci., Chem. 492 Bell-metal contains about twice that quantity of tin; and gong-metal somewhat less.
gong music n.
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1969 Australian 7 June 16/6 Indonesian gong music and singing is the most accessible Asian music for Western ears.
gong-peal n.
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1811 W. Scott Don Roderick xix. 26 Gong-peal and cymbal-clank the ear appal.
gong-stand n.
b.
gong-tormented adj.
ΚΠ
1932 W. B. Yeats Words for Music 2 That dolphin-torn, that gong-tormented sea.
C2.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
gong-bell n. = sense 1b (Webster 1864).
Draft additions September 2020
gong show n. colloquial (chiefly Canadian) a situation or event marked by chaos or incompetence; a free-for-all. [After the name of The Gong Show, a television programme originally broadcast in the United States in 1976–8 that featured talent competitions with amateur contestants who were often comically untalented.]
ΚΠ
1984 Province (Vancouver) 25 July 6/3 The election is serious. It should not be lowered to the level of a gong show or a shouting match.
2017 Eagle Valley (Sicamous, Brit. Columbia) News (Electronic ed.) 5 Dec. Third period was a gong show highlighted by two Posse goals, including a last-minute power-play conversion, and a lot of penalties.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
gongv.
/ɡɒŋ/, U.S. /ɡɔŋ/, /ɡɑŋ/ 1. To sound a gong; to make a gong-like sound; to summon (a person) with a gong.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > ring [verb (intransitive)]
ringOE
chimea1340
outringa1425
dong1587
ding-dong1659
tang1686
re-ring1763
ding1820
dinglea1839
bong1855
dingle dongle1858
tinnitate1866
jing1884
gong1903
pring1927
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > ring [verb (transitive)]
ringeOE
outring?1625
gong1903
1903 H. G. Wells in Strand Mag. Apr. 426/1 He has just gonged, no doubt to order another buttered tea~cake!
1959 J. Wain Travelling Woman 28 The vase, which was a metal one, gonged on the floor, and the flowers fell messily at his feet.
1959 D. Barton Loving Cup 167 I gong them into meals on the dot.
2. Of traffic police: to call upon (a driver) to stop by ringing a powerful ‘gong’. Also intransitive. (Cf. gong n.2 2b.)
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [verb (transitive)] > call upon driver to stop (of police)
gong1934
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > vehicular traffic > [verb (intransitive)] > signal with gong (of police)
gong1934
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > vehicular traffic > [verb (transitive)] > signal to with gong (of police)
gong1934
1934 in Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang.
1935 Times 9 Oct. 9/3 ‘If Major Gwynne had passed you a little farther down the road you would not have gonged him then because that part is not restricted?’—‘No.’
1936 Times 12 Mar. 8/5 He..was approaching a stationary car outside the Royal Oak when he gonged, slowed down at a pedestrian crossing, and [etc.].
1966 T. Wisdom High-performance Driving xvi. 137 He will then have to ‘gong’ you into the side on a busy trunk road.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1OE
n.2c1600v.1903