Entry · catalog no. 1001
thang
/ θæŋ /THANG
noun · South / national · 20th c.
✓ Verified
1.
A thing, but with more weight — one's own business, style, or specialty, carrying a sense of ownership that "thing" cannot hold.
“Don't worry about how I get it done — that's my thang.”
Origin & Attribution
The Southern Black vowel in "thing," carried in speech and song for well over half a century. The Isley Brothers built a chart-topping R&B hit on it in 1969, and Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg fixed the spelling in the national record in 1992.
mid-20th c.
Southern vowel in "thing," carried in speech and song
1969
Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing"
1992
Spelling fixed by "Nuthin' but a G Thang"
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
The South
South / national · 20th c.
Spoken by
Black Southern speakers
$THANGThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady57 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
74/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1969
in the culture
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@nolakid
New Orleans, LA
@htxdri
Houston, TX
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
It's Your Thing, The Isley Brothers — single · 1969
submitted
■
+ Cite a sourceNuthin' but a "G" Thang, Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg — single · 1992
submitted
See also