Etymograph

English

dingus

Dingus may come from Dutch dinges ‘thingamajig, thingy’.

  1. Dutchc. 1500–presentdinges1‘thingamajig, thingy’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1879dingus1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English dingus
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1879, George Wilbur Peck, Peck's Fun: “If anybody should come in, and catch you with…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Dutchc. 1500–presentdingesWiktionary, English dingus‘thingamajig, thingy’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1879dingusWiktionary, English dingus. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *þingą ‘case, matter, issue’

anything, 1 more

through Proto-West Germanic *þing ‘affair, matter’

thing, 2 more

Today it means

noun A gadget, device, or object whose name is either unknown, forgotten, or omitted for the purpose of humor.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dingus”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Dutch dinges / dingus

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