Etymograph

English

gang

Gang comes from Old English gang ‘journey, way’, from Proto-Germanic *gangaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- ‘to step’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰengʰ-1‘to step, walk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰongʰ-o-s1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gangaz1‘going, way’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gang1‘way, going’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150gang1‘journey; way, passage’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gang1‘journey; company’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1772gang1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English gang
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1772, Richard Cumberland, The Fashionable Lover. A Comedy.: “(Colin alone) Ah, Colin, thou’rt a prodigal; a thriftless…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰengʰ-Wiktionary, English gang‘to step, walk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰongʰ-o-sWiktionary, English gangreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gangazWiktionary, English gang‘going, way’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gangWiktionary, English gang‘way, going’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150gangWiktionary, English gang‘journey; way, passage’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gangWiktionary, English gang‘journey; company’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1772gangWiktionary, English gang. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1772, Richard Cumberland, The Fashionable Lover. A Comedy.: “(Colin alone) Ah, Colin, thou’rt a prodigal; a thriftless…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- ‘to step, walk’

jay, 14 more

through Old English gangan ‘to go, walk, turn out’

gong, 2 more

through Middle English gangen

1 more

Another origin of gang

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰengʰ-‘to step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰóngʰosreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gangaz‘pace, step, gait’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gang‘pace, step, gait’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150gang‘a journey’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gang
  7. Englishtodaygang

Today it means

verb To go; walk; proceed.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “gang”. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- / gang

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