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Added 10 October 2026

tong

/tɒŋ/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about tong at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An instrument or tool used for manipulating things in a fire without touching them with the hands.

verb

To use tongs.
To grab, manipulate or transport something using tongs.

noun

A Chinese lineage organization responsible for managing ancestral land.
A Chinese secret society or gang.

noun

Obsolete spelling of tongue.

Origin

From Middle English tonge (“tongs, fang”), tange, from Old English tange, from Proto-West Germanic *tangu, 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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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