*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of gong

Borrowed from Malay gong (possibly onomatopoeic).

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A percussion instrument consisting of a metal disk that emits a loud resonant sound when struck with a soft hammer. · A medal or award, particularly Knight Bachelor. · A metal target that emits a sound when it has been hit.

verb

To make the sound of a gong; to ring a gong. · To halt (originally, a contestant in a talent show; later, a performer, a speaker). · To warn. · To give an award or medal to.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Malay gong (possibly onomatopoeic).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {},
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "onomatopoeic",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "nocap": "1",
        "nocat": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "onomatopoeic"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "ms:gong<qq:possibly onomatopoeic>",
        "text": "++",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Malay\", \"term\" : \"gong\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"ms\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"gong\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"gong\">\nBorrowed from Malay gong (possibly onomatopoeic)."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "['ms:gong<qq:possibly ', <TEMPLATE(['onomatopoeic'], ['en'], ['nocap=1'], ['nocat=1']){} >, '>']",
        "text": "++",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Malay gong (possibly onomatopoeic)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "gong",
      "gong#Malay"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A percussion instrument consisting of a metal disk that emits a loud resonant sound when struck with a soft hammer.",
        "A medal or award, particularly Knight Bachelor.",
        "A metal target that emits a sound when it has been hit."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "slang"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 193259
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make the sound of a gong; to ring a gong.",
        "To halt (originally, a contestant in a talent show; later, a performer, a speaker).",
        "To warn.",
        "To give an award or medal to."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "transitive",
        "UK",
        "slang"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 193260
    }
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory. · The contents of an outhouse pit: shit.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English gong, from Old English gong, where it was originally a variant of the noun gang (“a going, walk, journey, way, etc.”), derived from the verb gangan (“to go, walk, travel”), whose relation to go in Proto-Germanic remains unclear. Doublet of gang.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentiongongenm
  • Inherited-form mentiongongang
  • Doublet mentiongangen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymid",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "outhouse"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "gong"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English gong"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "gong"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English gong"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gang"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of gang"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "gong",
      "gong#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "gong",
      "gong#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "gang",
      "gang#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "going",
      "going"
    ],
    [
      "walk",
      "walk"
    ],
    [
      "journey",
      "journey"
    ],
    [
      "way",
      "way"
    ],
    [
      "gangan",
      "gangan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "go",
      "go"
    ],
    [
      "walk",
      "walk"
    ],
    [
      "travel",
      "travel"
    ],
    [
      "go",
      "go#English"
    ],
    [
      "gang",
      "gang#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.",
        "The contents of an outhouse pit: shit."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
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    }
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}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A kind of cultivation energy, more powerful than qi. · An advanced practice that cultivates such energy.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Mandarin 功 (gōng, “merit; achievement”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mention功cmn
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
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    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cmn",
        "3": "功",
        "4": "",
        "5": "merit; achievement"
      },
      "expansion": "Mandarin 功 (gōng, “merit; achievement”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "功",
      "功#Mandarin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A kind of cultivation energy, more powerful than qi.",
        "An advanced practice that cultivates such energy."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 193262
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for gong →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Z29uZw