dingus

Meaning

1. (Canada, South-Africa, US, informal) A gadget, device, or object whose name is either unknown, forgotten, or omitted for the purpose of humor.
2. (Canada, US, derogatory, endearing, humorous, informal, sometimes) A foolish, incompetent, or silly person.
3. (slang, vulgar) The penis.

Synonyms

dingbat

Translations

şey

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.