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Hang

//hæŋ// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun

1
The way in which something hangs.
"This skirt has a nice hang."
2
Cheap processed ham (cured pork), often made specially for sandwiches. Ireland, derogatory, informal, uncountable
3
Alternative spelling of Hang (“musical instrument”). alt-of, alternative
4
The smallest amount of concern or consideration; a damn. colloquial
"I don't give a hang."
5
A percussion instrument invented and built by PANArt Hangbau AG, somewhat resembling a steelpan, consisting of two metal half shells with tuned notes on the top side that produces a mellow and ethereal sound.
"Philip plays a Hang drum—a unique instrument that looks a little like two woks welded together."

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6
a gymnastic exercise performed on the rings or horizontal bar or parallel bars when the gymnast's weight is supported by the arms wordnet
7
A mass of hanging material.
"They advanced in a crouch, dropping to their knees every few yards to pass under a hang of rock."
8
the way a garment hangs wordnet
9
A slackening of motion.
10
a special way of doing something wordnet
11
A sharp or steep declivity or slope.
12
An instance of ceasing to respond to input.
"We sometimes get system hangs."
13
A grip, understanding. figuratively, informal
14
A hangout. colloquial
"My first day was a fun hang, but I didn't really do too much. Me and stupid Bob just hung around the casino looking at box and losing money."
15
A person that someone hangs out with. colloquial
"She might announce something to everyone that makes no sense or tells a story that rambles on and on and makes no point. But for some reason nobody seems to mind. We all just like to listen to The Airhead. She's a fun hang."

Verb

1
To be or remain suspended. intransitive
"The lights hung from the ceiling."
2
suspend (meat) in order to get a gamey taste wordnet
3
To float, as if suspended. intransitive
"The smoke hung in the room."
4
hold on tightly or tenaciously wordnet
5
To veer in one direction. intransitive
"The jockey claimed that the horse hung towards the outside[…]"

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6
cause to be hanging or suspended wordnet
7
To rebound unexpectedly or unusually slowly, due to backward spin on the ball or imperfections of the ground. intransitive, usually
8
place in position as by a hinge so as to allow free movement in one direction wordnet
9
To hold or bear in a suspended or inclined manner or position instead of erect. transitive
"He hung his head in shame."
10
be placed in position as by a hinge wordnet
11
To cause (something) to be suspended, as from a hook, hanger, hinges, or the like. transitive
"Hang those lights from the ceiling."
12
be suspended or poised wordnet
13
To kill (someone) by suspension from the neck, usually as a form of execution or suicide. transitive
"The culprits were hanged from the nearest tree."
14
be suspended or hanging wordnet
15
To be executed by suspension by one's neck from a gallows, a tree, or other raised bar, attached by a rope tied into a noose. intransitive
"You will hang for this, my friend."
16
fall or flow in a certain way wordnet
17
(used in maledictions) To damn. informal, transitive
"Helena That depends on how much of the factory you show me. Domin Oh, hang the factory. Oh, no, no, you shall see everything, Miss Glory. Indeed you shall. Won't you sit down?"
18
decorate or furnish with something suspended wordnet
19
To loiter; to hang around; to spend time idly. informal, intransitive
"I didn't see anything, officer. I was just hanging."
20
let drop or droop wordnet
21
To exhibit (an object) by hanging. transitive
22
give heed (to) wordnet
23
To apply (wallpaper or drywall to a wall). transitive
"Let's hang this cute animal design in the nursery."
24
kill by hanging wordnet
25
To decorate (something) with hanging objects. transitive
"Let's hang the nursery with some new wallpaper."
26
prevent from reaching a verdict, of a jury wordnet
27
To remain persistently in one's thoughts. figuratively, intransitive
"Exploring, I found another short gallery running transversely to the first. This appeared to be devoted to minerals, and the sight of a block of sulphur set my mind running on gunpowder. But I could find no saltpetre; indeed, no nitrates of any kind. Doubtless they had deliquesced ages ago. Yet the sulphur hung in my mind, and set up a train of thinking."
28
be menacing, burdensome, or oppressive wordnet
29
To prevent from reaching a decision, especially by refusing to join in a verdict that must be unanimous. transitive
"One obstinate juror can hang a jury."
30
be exhibited wordnet
31
To stop responding to manual input devices such as the keyboard and mouse. intransitive
"The computer has hung again. Not even pressing <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<Del> works."
32
To cause (a program or computer) to stop responding. transitive
"The program has a bug that can hang the system."
33
To cause (a piece) to become vulnerable to capture. transitive
"If you move there, you'll hang your rook."
34
To be vulnerable to capture. intransitive
"In this standard opening position White has to be careful because the pawn on e4 hangs."
35
To throw a hittable off-speed pitch. slang, transitive
"McDougald then singled, and with a 3-2 count on Ellie Howard who was playing first base, Spahn hung a curve ball and Howard hit it over the wire fence in left field for a 4-4 tie."
36
To attach or cause to stick (a charge or accusation, etc.). figuratively, transitive
"There were no whisperings, even from his opponents, that he was no better than he ought to be. Because, there was nothing wrong on which to hang a charge. As an eloquent orator, he carried with him the firm support of a good name."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English hangen, hongen, from a fusion of Old English hōn (“to hang, be hanging”, transitive verb) and hangian (“to hang, cause to hang”, intransitive verb), respectively from the transitive verb Proto-West Germanic *hą̄han and the intransitive verb *hangēn; also probably influenced by Old Norse hengja (“to suspend”) and hanga (“to be suspended”); all from Proto-Germanic *hanhaną and *hangāną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱenk- (“to waver, be in suspense”). See also Dutch hangen, Low German hangen and hängen, German hängen, Norwegian Bokmål henge, Norwegian Nynorsk henga; also Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (hāhan), Hittite 𒂵𒀀𒀭𒂵 (/⁠kānk-⁠/, “to hang”), Sanskrit शङ्कते (śáṅkate, “is in doubt, hesitates”), Latin cūnctārī (“to delay”).

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

From hang sangwich, Irish colloquial pronunciation of ham sandwich.

Etymology 4

Alteration of dang, itself a minced oath of damn.

Etymology 5

Coined as a trademark, from Alemannic German Hang (“hand”), c. 2000.

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