Thing

A public assembly or judicial council in a Germanic country.

Noun

  1. A public assembly or judicial council in a Germanic country.
    • But when the earl held a Thing, then Thorkell spoke on behalf of the freemen, told the need of the men, and bade the earl spare his people. - 1894, George W. Dasent, transl., The Orkneyingers Saga: Icelandic Sagas,...
    • The supreme political unit of the tribe was the assembly of its free male warriors. This assembly, called the "Thing", served as the court of highest instance for dealing with individuals who had broken fundamental...
    • Before Thorstein left home, he and Asgerd decided to take Arinbjorn's gift, the silk cloak, out of Egil's chest, and Thorstein wore it to the Thing. - 1997, “Egil's Saga”, in Bernard Scudder, transl., The Sagas of...
  2. Nickname or appellative for numerous "things", including fictional characters.
  3. Nickname for the Volkswagen 181.

Origin

See thing.

Forms

Things

Derived

Thingstead the Althing of Iceland the People's Thing of Denmark the Great Thing of Norway the Law Thing of the Faroes