thong

Meaning

1. A narrow strip of material, typically leather, used to fasten, bind, or secure objects.
2. (Australia, plural-normally) An item of footwear, usually of rubber, secured by two straps which join to pass between the big toe and its neighbour.
3. (UK, US) An item of clothing, usually an undergarment or swimwear consisting of very narrow strips designed to cover just the genitals and nothing more.
4. The largest section of a bullwhip constructed of many straps of braided leather.

Synonyms

strap

belt

flip-flop

G-string

lash

tanga

leash

band

whip

latchet

ribbon

🎀

g-string

strip

gee-string

cord

thongs

slipper

girdle

string

🪢

whang

G string

wristlet

flip flop

leather strap

zori

small strap

leather strip

tawse

gee string

halter

lashing

lunge

pusher

rope

🪢

sandal

👡

sash

sling

Translations

correa

string

lanière

Riemen

courroie

tira de couro

riem

cinghia

tanga

tong

tanga

chancla

correggia

infradito

Pronounced as (IPA)

/θɒŋ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: thong

Inherited from Old English: þwong

Cognate with Scots: thwang

Cognate with Middle Low German: dwenge

Cognate with German: Zwinge

Cognate with Danish: tvinge

Cognate with Norwegian: tveng

Cognate with Icelandic: þvengur

In summary

From Middle English thong, thwong, thwang, from Old English þwong, þwang (“thong, band, strap, cord, strip of leather; phylactery”), from Proto-West Germanic *þwangi, from Proto-Germanic *þwangiz, *þwanguz (“coercion, constraint, band, clamp, strap”), from Proto-Indo-European *twenk- (“to squeeze, press, pressure”). Cognate with Scots thwang, thwayng, thang (“thong”), Middle Low German dwenge (“clamp, jaws, steel-trap”), German Zwinge (“vise, clamp”), Danish tvinge (“clamp”), dialectal Norwegian tveng (“shoestrap, shoelace”), Icelandic þvengur (“strap, thong, latchet”).