English
dingus
Dingus may come from Dutch dinges ‘thingamajig, thingy’.
- Dutchc. 1500–presentdinges‘thingamajig, thingy’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1879dingus
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Dutchc. 1500–presentdinges‘thingamajig, thingy’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1879dingus
Earliest quotation: 1879, George Wilbur Peck, Peck's Fun: “If anybody should come in, and catch you with…”
The story
Partially a borrowing from Dutch dinges (‘thingamajig, thingy; whatshisname, whatshername’), ding (‘thing’). The spelling dingus is a pseudo-Latinism to look like a Latin word ending in -us.
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *þingą ‘case, matter, issue’
through Proto-West Germanic *þing ‘affair, matter’
Today it means
noun A gadget, device, or object whose name is either unknown, forgotten, or omitted for the purpose of humor.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Dutch dinges / dingus