(Canada, South-Africa, US, informal) A gadget, device, or object whose name is either unknown, forgotten, or omitted for the purpose of humor.
(Canada, US, derogatory, endearing, humorous, informal, sometimes) A foolish, incompetent, or silly person.
(slang, vulgar) The penis.
Frequency
Pronounced as (IPA)
/ˈdɪŋɡəs/
Etymology
Probably of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Dutch dinges (“thingamajig, thingy; whatshisname, whatshername”), ding (“thing”). Probably also partly a borrowing from Afrikaans in view of its South African occurrence. The spelling dingus is remodeled to look like a Latin word ending in -us.